Friends, Others ‘Linked Through Lisa’ Swaddle Murder Victim’s Family in a Warm Embrace

The bullet that ended Lisa Christensen’s life last July didn’t end her influence and or kill her spirit

More than 100 people gathered fundraiser was held last month at a restaurant in Northville to raise money to support her children, Mallory Weber and Mitch Weber, The Observer & Eccentric reports.

Chistensen, 55, was shot by her estranged husband, Gunar Donald Christensen, 59, who then shot himself in their Novi home. The two were going through a divorce. Gunar Christensen was the children’s stepfather.

TEAM Lisa – “linked through Lisa,” her sister, Jane Freed says – gathered from various corners of the community at a wine-tasting event at Genitti’s Hole in the Wall, an Italian Restaurant. They represented the various organizations and causes Christensen represented, whether the Northville Parks and Recreation Department, where she was the director of youth basketball, or her children’s schools, or any of the countless activities she was involved in in Northville or Novi.

“So many of us helping with the fundraiser represent different aspects of the community and didn’t know each other prior to losing Lisa,” Kim Yaggi, a member of the organizing committee, told the newspaper. “Likewise, many of the people who attended the event in her honor did not know each other, which is a testament to how far Lisa’s reach extended. … We really do feel we are linked through Lisa, and I feel this chain is still growing even after her passing. It just shows what a powerful force Lisa was and that her spirit continues.”

Freed said the family is “overwhelmed compassion and sense of community. TEAM LISA is an amazing group of people” and that the outpouring of support mirrors what her sister offered when she saw people in need.

“TEAM LISA is an amazing group of people,” Freed said. “How do you thank people for something like this? We really can’t express how grateful we are.“

Jeanne Bowan, Christensen’s mother, is caring for the two children who lost their mother last July. Mallory Weber is a 2012 graduate of Northville High School, and Mitch Weber, 16, is a junior. Gunar Christensen was the children’s stepfather.

The next TEAM Lisa fundraising event is a June 22 golf outing at Lyons Oak in Wixom. For more information, email TeamLisa2013@yahoo.com.