Simone H. Christopherson Obituary (2017)

Simone Huguette (Mathis) Christopherson died at the age of 95 on February 3, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was predeceased by her son John Paul Christopherson. She is survived by her children, Francine Bowen (Las Vegas) and Dan Christopherson (Denver), along with 8 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by many nieces and nephews in both the U.S. and France. She was born in 1921 in Château Thierry, France. Her family later moved to Paris. She received her teaching degree in 1937 from the Academie de Paris, then attended a private school in Crowe, England in 1938 to study English. In 1940, during World War II, she enlisted in the London-based Free French Forces government-in-exile where she served as a translator. Soon after the war, she married John Christopherson from Story City Iowa. The family moved from Ames, Iowa to Denver, Colorado in 1956. At the age of 43, while raising three children she returned to school to pursue a college teaching career. She earned a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Colorado. She became a teaching associate of French in 1966 at the University of Colorado (Boulder and Denver campuses) and later became an instructor at Colorado Women’s College in Denver. She had a passion for teaching and was a popular instructor of French language, literature and culture. In 1975 her career was cut short when she became afflicted with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disease that interfered with her vocalization. She was forced to quit teaching, although she did individual tutoring for a few years after becoming totally disabled. In 2001 she moved to Las Vegas to live near her daughter and her family. A memorial service will be held later this spring in Denver. In lieu of flowers, contributions in her memory are suggested to be sent to the National Spasmodic Dysphonia Association, www.dysphonia.org.