Christen J. Grorud
January 4, 1979 - January 24, 2016
Christen J. Grorud age 37 of Jakarta, Indonesia
Formerly of Fremont, Died Sunday, January 24, 2016
Christen Joseph Grorud was born January 4, 1979 in St. Paul Minnesota to Mark and Caryl (Christensen) Grorud. He was baptized as a Child of God on January 28, 1979. Chris grew up in Fremont, Nebraska, was confirmed in the Lutheran faith at First Lutheran Church and graduated from Fremont High School as a class valedictorian in 1997. Chris excelled at debate and running track and cross-country in high school.
Chris received his B.A. in Religion and Philosophy from St. Olaf College in Northfield MN, a M.A. in Southeast Asia Studies from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a M.A. from the University of Washington, Seattle in History and did significant advanced work toward his doctoral studies in Indonesian politics and history at the University of Washington.
Indonesian studies and culture were Chris' passion. He spent significant amounts of time over the past 15 years studying, researching, teaching and working in Indonesia.
Chris was a member of Saint Michael Lutheran Church in Omaha.
Chris loved life. He had a deep and abiding interest in caring for those forgotten or neglected by society. He made friends easily and had many, many friends in locations around the world. His wit, his humor and his brilliant mind captured the hearts of all he met. He was deeply loved.
Chris died in his sleep of natural causes on January 24, 2016 in Jakarta, Indonesia at the age of 37 years. He is survived by his parents, Rev. Mark and Caryl Grorud of Fremont, Nebraska; sister and brother-in-law Marit and Mark Sullivan of Hudson, Wisconsin; three nephews, Paul Robert, Andrew Max and Thomas Arthur Sullivan of Hudson; other relatives and many, many friends. Chris is preceded in death by his grandparents, Rev. Arthur and Minnie Grorud and Max and Marjorie Christensen.
Graveside services will be 10am Tuesday at Memorial Cemetery in Fremont with a service celebrating Chris' life and the promise of God's grace and love to follow at 11am Tuesday at First Lutheran Church in Fremont. The family will be present from 5pm to 8pm Monday at Ludvigsen Mortuary in Fremont to receive friends. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to the family and will be used to establish the Christen J. Grorud Endowed Memorial Fund for Student Support at the Southeast Asia Center of the Jackson School for International Studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. If you wish to give a gift directly to remember Chris you can find his memorial fund online at giving.uw.edu/grorud. Thank you for sharing in his memory in this way.
Online guestbook at www.Ludvigsenmortuary.com
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