Thelma Christina Fendler

Chris was born at home to Albert and Ida Eriksson Hammerseth in Vineyard Haven on the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts on January 22, 1927. She was very proud of her Norwegian/Swedish heritage and had visited both countries several times, and always was filled with the beauty of both lands. On one visit to Norway while sailing on the Hurtigruten, the ship passed by the island of Askrova and the captain pointed out the Hammerseth Farm to her where her ancestors had lived. She loved to travel and in her early teens she began to visit travel agencies to gather any brochures she could bring home to dream about. This love of travel was carried throughout her life, and she always kept her passports filled with places she loved.

She was an avid gardener and loved to spend her time in her flower gardens planting or caring for all the perennials she had. She even carried one hundred plants in a bag to Fort Collins to plant in the yard before the house they were building was ready to move in.

Chris and her husband, Alfred, moved to Fort Collins in 1988 from White Plains, New York and found great joy in their life here. Alfred passed away in 2010 after sharing 63 years of life together. Chris was active in several groups within her neighborhood association for many years and was a member of Anna Circle at Trinity Lutheran Church. She is survived by her daughter, Janis Fendler; her son, Robert, and wife Barbara, one grandson, Robert Eisenstein; and her brother Richard Harper and wife Mary Ann.

A Memorial Service will take place at 1:00pm on Monday, April 1, 2024, at Trinity Lutheran Church in Fort Collins. Memorials to Trinity Lutheran Church or to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (alzfdn.org).