Christy Iverson, longtime Pioneer Press front desk employee, dies at 65
Christy Iverson helped customers at the front desk of the Pioneer Press lobby for many years, but she also had a way with words.
In 2012, in a Pioneer Press Turning Point column, Iverson described the experience of living with a grim cancer diagnosis:
“The doctor said, ‘I know it’s hard to talk about the loss of your own life,’ and I thought, ‘Do you? Do you, really?'” she said. “There are so many cliches when it comes to cancer. I don’t want the disease to define me, but I don’t want it to defeat me, either.
“What’s strange is what goes through your head at night, in bed, when you’re trying to fall asleep. You’ll think mundane thoughts like, ‘Gotta clean the bathroom’ and ‘I need to buy socks’ and then, ‘Oh, yeah, I was just told I was dying of cancer,’ followed by, ‘I really need to clean the litter box.'”
After fighting cancer and living her life for 11 more years after that column, Iverson passed away Sunday, May 28. She was 65.
Christine Leigh Iverson was born Oct. 18, 1957. She lived in Woodbury, but grew up on St. Paul’s East Side, graduating from Harding High School (class of 1975) before going on to study at the University of Minnesota. She started working for the Pioneer Press in the 1980s.
You might have met Iverson, who worked at the Pioneer Press for 33 years, until 2015: As the employee who ran the front desk in the lobby of our location at 345 Cedar St., Iverson helped many people who came to pay their subscription, place an ad or inquire about a story. She was funny, kind and warm as well as helpful.
After her diagnosis of endometrial cancer in 2011, and after the cancer metastasized in 2012, Iverson underwent chemotherapy treatments that sometimes kept her home sick.
“It makes you feel as if you’ve never had a happy thought in your life,” she said of the treatment. “You’ll see someone on TV smile and you’ll think, ‘I think I did that once.’ Your bones just ache. You can’t be distracted. I feel my normalcy has been stolen.”
When the treatment symptoms faded, though, Iverson took the normalcy back.
“A good day is when I get to go to work,” she said. “I can go to work on the good days, I can knit and I can read.”
Outside of work, Iverson’s hobbies and interests included stitching, crafting, reading and family activities.
“She will be remembered for her positive personality and love for her family and animals, especially her cats Iveigh, Tory and Tess,” her obituary states.
Iverson was preceded in death by her father. She is survived by family members including her mother, her two siblings and their partners and her beloved nieces and nephews.
A memorial gathering will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 11, at Wulff Woodbury Funeral Home, 2195 Woodlane Dr., Woodbury, with memory sharing beginning at 3 p.m. Memorials preferred. WulffWoodburyFuneralHome.com.
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