Inaugural Impressions
Wade Christensen (1954–)
Dalbert Wade (Wade) Christensen was born in El Reno, Oklahoma, on December 14, 1954, to James and Clairce Jo Christensen. He grew up on the family’s farm and ranch in western Oklahoma. Wade was a multi-sport athlete while in school and played several instruments, including the piano and trombone. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Oklahoma State University (OSU) and a juris doctorate from the University of Tulsa Law School. He became an attorney while staying involved in the family’s agribusiness.
He first met Mary Copeland Fallin while they were students at OSU. After college, Mary worked for various state agencies and in the private sector before being elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1990. She went on to serve as lieutenant governor and, in 2006, became the first woman from Oklahoma elected to the US House of Representatives since Alice Mary Robertson. Wade proposed to Mary during a surprise trip to Washington, DC, and the couple married in November 2009. They have a combined family of six children.
Mary was elected governor of Oklahoma in 2010, the first woman to hold that office. Wade remained a practicing attorney while serving as First Gentleman, specializing in workers’ compensation. He served as chairman of the Friends of the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion and as chairman of the National Governors Association Spouses’ Leadership Committee. He engaged in several philanthropic initiatives, including serving as honorary co-chair for a fundraiser to support Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma. In 2013, he published a book of grilling recipes titled Getting Grilled by Wade Christensen:The First Gentleman of the State of Oklahoma.
Wade is managing director of Christensen Law, which specializes in workers’ compensation and civil litigation. He still serves as an advisory board member for the Friends of the Oklahoma Governor’s Mansion and is on boards affiliated with Oklahoma Children’s Hospital and the Oklahoma Library Association.
Wade Christensen
(2012.201.B0224.0896, Oklahoma Publishing Company Photography Collection, OHS)
