01/12/2026
Dear Friends, Neighbors and Patients,
Almost 50 years ago, I was a senior in high school, and a friend of mine on the football team in Amery, WI told me he was going to take an elective class in the fall of 1976. The name of the class was Health Careers. I needed an elective for the fall, so I decided to take that class with him. Who could ever know what that conversation on the football practice field on a hot August day would lead to? After 40-plus years of caring for patientsā visual well-being, I am retiring on December 31, 2025. Looking back, it is hard to believe that the time has come to call it a career.
I chose to pursue a career in optometry after listening to a presentation from a brand-new optometrist in Amery, Dr. Terry Christopherson, and visiting the practice where he and his father-in-law, Dr. Jack Larsen, practiced. Dr. Larsen was a gregarious gentleman who made you feel like a close friend and treated all his patients as if they were guests in his home. I immediately saw in him a person I could try to emulate and maybe one day become. From that day at the age of 17, I put myself on a path to become a primary care eye doctor. I would have no way of knowing then what a rewarding, stimulating, and fulfilling career path it would be.
I completed my undergraduate studies at UWRF and was accepted to attend the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, Illinois. I graduated in 1984 and went on to complete additional post-doctoral training as a resident in Childrenās Vision at the Southern College of Optometry, finishing in 1985. To the instructors, professors, and staff doctors who mentored me and developed me at both institutions, I owe a great debt of gratitude.
The early years of my eye clinic involved seeing patients in the basement-level office at the old Keller Building next to Mikeās Standard Station and close to KFC. Some of you who are reading this first gave me the opportunity to serve your vision care needs in that office. It was not easy getting the practice established in those early years, but with the help of many of you referring your friends and family, and my involvement in Hudson Daybreak Rotary, the Hudson Chamber of Commerce, and local church involvement, we got the practice going.
I next practiced for a short period next to the old Plaza 94 by the Dominoās Pizza in a space I shared with my good friend and colleague, dentist Dr. Tom Kloster. After 18 months or so we teamed up with veterinarians, Drs. Dean and Joy Knudson, and built the professional building next to the YMCA, where we all practiced for many years.
It has been a challenging, rewarding, invigorating, and mostly incredible journey for which I owe all of you many thanks and an abiding sense of gratitude. Over the years, many of you have become not only patients but good friends. I have had the great opportunity to be your trusted eye doctor and, in many cases, to get to know your children into adulthood, and in some cases your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. It has been a pleasure and an honor to get to know your interests, hobbies, occupational goals, and life experiences. What an incredible way to make a career.
As with all things in life, a next chapter must come. I have retired as of December 31, 2025, and the good news for you all is that I leave you in the care of three outstanding doctors. Dr. Micki Flynn has not only been a partner but a good friend over the years. She is a wonderfully talented, committed practitioner whom I could not recommend more highly after watching her care for our patients for more than 20 years. Dr. Griff Christenson is skilled in many areas of patient care, including specialty contact lenses, disease management, and concussion care. He has also completed a Masterās degree in Computer Science, which is a great asset in our ever-increasing technical field of patient care. In the past several months, we have also been blessed to be joined by Dr. Danielle Henderson. She brings with her a caring, concerned, and highly qualified approach to patient care with a deep sense of community, family, and faith.
I would be remiss not to mention my good fortune in having the opportunity to work with all our co-workers over the years. During my time, we only had four office managers: Laurie Hill, Julie Mudge, Mike Bowman, and Evelyn Martinez. Each one made key contributions to the practice, and it is hard to imagine how we could have done it without them. Evelyn, our current office manager, has been especially key in our partnership with AEG to position Christenson Vision Care to move forward into the future in a strong position in the ever-changing field of health care.
As I bow out of my daily presence in the office and begin to figure out retirement, I look forward to catching up with you as our paths cross in the community. I will be pursuing my interests with family and in the outdoors, as well as serving as a volunteer at church and in the community through Rotary and whatever other opportunities may be waiting out there.
All the best and God Bless you all,
Gar Christenson, O.D.
