Alvin "Skip" Christensen, Rest in Peace

From the CA Land Surveyors board June 2, 2012

Alvin "Skip" Christensen, Rest in Peace
With great sadness, I regret to inform the Land Surveying community of the passing of my father Alvin “Skip” Christensen, PLS 3936. Skip lost his battle with cancer this morning, he was 73 years young. Skip is survived by his wife Brett, son Warren, daughter Jenifer, grandson Scott, granddaughter Melissa, grandson Brock, granddaughter Kendall and myself.

Skip was born and raised in Rio Vista, CA. He played basketball and football at Rio Vista High school and later attended UC Davis and played football for the Aggies. Skip enjoyed sailing in the San Francisco Bay and later, the coastal waters of the Pacific out of Dana Point, CA. I have many fond memories of sailing with my dad.

Skip started his surveying career at the Port of Oakland in 1965. He worked for the Port for 4 years. He then took a position at Murray-McCormick in Oakland. Murray-McCormick eventually became Greiner which eventually became URS Corporation. Skip became licensed in 1971. Skip served as a Vice President for many of his 43 years with URS. He spent 16 years in Santa Ana, CA as Greiner’s Southern Region Survey Operations Manager. He found his way back to the Bay Area to lead URS’ Northern Region Survey Group in 1998.

Skip has worked on numerous high-profile transportation projects throughout California, most notably Bay Area Rapid Transit. Last year, Skip began work on the Fresno to Bakersfield phase of the California High-Speed Rail Right of Way Engineering project. He enjoyed the challenge of large projects. He has influenced and mentored many throughout his career. Over the years, I have been told by many what a professional he was and how he has influenced their careers. His footprint will live on in many of the surveyors he has worked with throughout his career, including mine.

A memorial for Skip will be held in Isleton, CA on the afternoon of July 28th.

Brian Christensen, PLS, CA, NV