Gordon Orders Flag Flown at Half Staff Over Passing of Leland Christensen
Governor Mark Gordon has ordered the Wyoming State Flag be flown at half staff at the Capitol in Cheyenne and in Teton County from sunrise to sunset on Feb. 25, 2022, in honor and memory of Leland Christensen.
Christensen represented District 17 in the Wyoming Senate from 2011-2018 and served as Gordon's Deputy Director of Homeland Security and as State Director for Senator Cynthia Lummis.
He passed away on Feb. 4, 2022.
According to a GoFundMe set up by his son Hunter Christensen and a friend of the family Dana Mackenzie, Christensen was being treated for Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma when he contracted COVID-19.
The GoFundMe raised $81,130 from 366 donations, out of a $750,000 goal, since the campaign was launched to help pay for Christensen's medical bills on Jan. 22.
A funeral is planned to be held for Christensen on Feb. 26.
On Feb. 15, Lummis posted to her Facebook page about the passing of Christensen.
Lummis said, in a speech in the U.S. Senate:
"I am just profoundly sad and also humbled and proud to honor the memory of a cherished son of Wyoming," Lummis said. "More than anything I rise to honor my longtime friend Leland Christenson...His death cuts me to the depth of my heart. I have known Leland for decades, and there are few losses in my life that I have ever felt as deeply as this one."