Bob Christensen moved countless people – in the heart and on the road – in the Quad Cities and across the country.
The generous 76-year-old – owner of Two Men and a Truck moving companies in Davenport, Peoria and Rockford – passed away Jan. 6, 2024 after a battle with colon cancer. He lived in Freeport, Ill., 93 miles northeast of Moline.
Christensen donated thousands of dollars to the Quad Cities community over the last nine years and helped underprivileged men find a path to success, according to a Wednesday release from the company. During his three-year battle with colon cancer, “Bob remained extremely positive and focused on continuing to help as many people as possible despite being in extreme pain,” the company notice said.
He was working at his office the week before he passed. Christensen is well-known for “moving” people forward. He often hired people who are down on their luck and gave them a future they didn’t think they could achieve, the release said.
Juan Gallegos is one of the first movers hired. He says, “Growing up, I never really had a father figure, or a true friend and you filled that void for me. Not a week goes by where I don’t think of you or mention the ways you have impacted my life.” Gallegos now owns his own Two Men and a Truck businesses in El Paso, Tex., and Las Cruces, N.M.
One of Christensen’s long-time Peoria managers, Greg Micklos, now owns Two Men and a Truck in Pensacola, Fla.. Christensen also helped his son’s childhood friend, Jay Mellentine, become a franchisee. Mellentine owns seven franchises in the U.S. Christensen’s daughter-in-law, Jen Christensen, just opened a Two Men and a Truck in Cookeville, Tenn., in 2023.
From California to Illinois
Christensen was born June 27, 1947 in the United States Navy Hospital in Long Beach, Calif. Upon his father’s discharge from the U.S. Navy, the family relocated to Freeport, Ill., where Bob spent most of his life, with the exception of college years at McMurray College in Jacksonville, serving the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict and in Springfield, Ill., working on his master’s in business administration and preventative medicine, according to his obituary.
“Throughout his life, Bob had always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit,” the obit says, noting he owned and operated Partners in Maintenance Fasteners Company. Following Partners, his true business pride came in the form of being a franchise owner of Two Men and a Truck Kevcor Services Inc. Christensen partnered with his own “Two Men,” sons Kevin and Cory, who will keep his legacy moving forward.
Two Men and a Truck is a national, full-service moving company — which offers customers comprehensive home and business relocation, packing and unpacking, and junk removal services – at over 350 locations worldwide.
Christensen not only helped people become owners, he also gave people the opportunity to make a good living and contribute to society, the company said.
“He gave me an opportunity when no one else did, even when I made stupid mistakes. He always saw the good in me,” said Peoria driver Dubrick Tucker.
Christensen also actively recruited veterans to work at his stores. The U.S. Army veteran served from 1969-1971. He had orders to go to Vietnam, but was sidelined at a base in Tacoma, Wash. He inspected mess halls and took steps to prevent food-borne illnesses and mosquito-borne diseases.
Community donations
He has hired more than 15 veterans to work at his stores throughout the years. Two Men and a Truck Davenport (which has over 30 employees) donates to the local community each year through its “Movers for Moms” and “Movers for Mutts” campaigns. Single women in need of clothing, food, and baby supplies benefit from the campaign as well as animals without homes at local shelters.
Two Men and a Truck gathers items from community members and donates them to Winnie’s Transitional Housing, Churches United of the Quad Cities, King’s Harvest Pet Rescue No-Kill Shelter, and QC PAWS.
The business also donates time and resources to help local organizations like Family Resources, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Mississippi Valley, and Churches United.
Two Men and a Truck Davenport has been voted “Best Movers in the Quad Cities” on Locals Love Us every year for the past nine years since the office opened.
Employees can be seen donating their time to events like the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train at the Freight House, Davenport Parks and Recreation, QC Senior Expo, Rock Island Labor Day parade, Annual 4th of July parade in East Moline, “Pack the Bus,” Cops ‘n’ Kids and other events.
Christensen said on many occasions, “I get the pleasure of seeing my employees grow and succeed and I want them to know I care about them.”
Memorials are being established for community and education causes. The family, with permission, will be donating a park bench to the Freeport Park District Tennis courts on Empire in his memory.
You can make memorials out to the Robert Christensen Memorial Fund, mailed to Burke-Tubbs Funeral Home, 504 N. Walnut, Freeport, IL 61032.
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