LIANNE ISABEL MARIE CHRISTIE

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LIANNE ISABEL MARIE CHRISTIE

On November 1st, 2026, Lianne Isabel Marie Christie passed away after a short but fierce battle with pancreatic cancer.

Lianne was born on October 23rd, 1959 in Brandon, Manitoba; she grew up on the family farm northwest of Brandon in the Kirkham's Bridge area, which is where she fell in love with horses. She attended school in Forrest, graduating from Elton Collegiate in 1977, and participated in the 4H Club and a variety of sports and community events. Although formally trained as a dental assistant, Lianne went on to pursue two very different career paths: owning and operating MacDonald’s Cafe and The Queen’s Hotel in Rapid City, and running the IT Service Desk at CFB Shilo. The highlight of her career was her time in Afghanistan; she took a one-year contract with NATO, and then applied for a second. She came home a changed woman.

She married Terry MacDonald in 1982, and in 1983 her son Matt was born, followed by her daughter Janna in 1985. In 1994, she married her true love, Jim Christie, bringing his children, Stuart and Kalyn, into her family.

Lianne is survived by her husband, best friend, and the love of her life, Jim; her son, Matthew MacDonald; her daughter, Janna (Bryce) Todorovich and her grandchildren Ethan and Maeve; her stepson, Stuart Christie; her stepdaughter, Kalyn Christie, and her granddaughter Madison, as well as Jason and Kyle. She will be deeply missed by her siblings, Brent (Shelley) Hansen and Sharon Hansen, and by her many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews.

She is predeceased by her parents, Bill and Agnes Hansen, as well as her ex-husband, Terry.

A Come-and-Go Celebration of Life will take place on Monday, November 16th, 2026 at Monterey Estates Recreation Centre, 40 Mockingbird Drive, Brandon. Friends and family are welcome to come between 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, please buy yourself a Smack the Jack ticket. Good luck!

CHRISTMAS JAMS AND WILD HORSES

By Matt MacDonald



1. On the 1st of November in '26 went Lianne Isabel Marie Christie, from cancer;

On October 23rd in '59, she challenged Brandon's multitudes to chance her.

Near Kirkham's Bridge she spent her youth, with Harrow's Christmas jams and wild horses,

Then blossomed at Elton Collegiate in Forrest, and by '77 had completed all of her courses.

She joined the 4H Club and dabbled in home ec, the piano, and some skating,

And like her dad, she played back catcher, protecting her diamond from the enemy's plating. When wintertide snuffed the summertime's bliss, she went skidooing around its snowy banks, And in Winnipeg, she fell in love with cooking, a lifelong passion and how she showed her thanks. At 18 years, adulthood commenced, and she left her home to make her worldly bones, But Yellowknife, Regina, and the thrill of dentistry paled in comparison to Westman's prairie tones.

11. In Rapid City in '82, she married Terry, and ran their café to survive, With Matthew quarrelling by '83 and Janna coming more quietly in '85. A decade later, in '94, she married Jim, the man she was meant to be with, Gaining Stuart and Kalyn, as well as a job for the Armed Forces in Shilo as a data-smith.

Lianne was a baker and masterful cook and co-owner of the historical Queen's Hotel,

But her time in Afghanistan changed how she felt about all of the two-dollar beers she could sell. She liked travel and shopping with a sprinkle of slots, but she learned from her deadly adventures while working abroad That her friends and her family embodied her world, and she loved them no matter how deeply and often they were flawed.

She'll be met at the Pearly Gates by her folks, Bill and Agnes, and by Terry, who endowed her with tots,

20. And is missed by her siblings, Sharon and Brent, who, with Shelley, await her interment in family plots, And by Jim, who remains to hold down the fort with the mien of a New Elizabethan, And by Matthew and Janna, her past and her future, and by Jan's family, Bryce, Maeve, and Ethan, And by Stuart and Kalyn and Madison Leigh, and by Jason and Kyle, another family combined, And by more than a score of her nieces and nephews, spanning Hansens, MacDonalds, and Christies, and others in kind. A celebration of life will take place on November 16th at the Monterey Rec Centre;

26. It runs 2 until 4, and in lieu of bouquets, find your local Smack the Jack contest and enter!

TRIBUTES: www.brockiedonovan.com

As published in Brandon Sun on Nov 07, 2026