Obituary of Christopher Christiansen

Christopher will be sadly missed by his parents Barb and Clay Christiansen; two brothers: Cashess and Cayle as well as numerous other relatives. EULOGY Chris Christiansen tragically has been taken from all of us long before his time. One of the greatest and most challenging experiences in all of life is having and raising children. There aren't too many other things more devastating than losing a child, but though his body has passed on, the spirit of Chris lives on. When Clay and Barb asked me to speak about Chris today I accepted without hesitation. I knew Chris from the time he entered Kindergarten, I taught him a few subjects, dealt with a few of his misbehaviors as his Principal, managed some of the hockey teams he played on and observed his friendship with my son. Chris' death was sudden. I remember when I heard the news I simply could not believe it. Chris was too young, but in the past few years after talking to his parents, relatives and friends, I have realized that Chris indeed lived his life wonderfully. He did what he wanted to do, said what he wanted to say and lived each day as it came. Chris was well loved...this is not the time for us to grieve his death, but to celebrate his life. This is what he would have wanted. Chris was a very polite, good natured, kind hearted and supportive person. He enjoyed sports such as golf, rugby and ball but especially loved hockey. Chris played a year of AA Bantam and Midget hockey with the Midwest Red Wings and impressed many with his shot, speed, spirit and determination. He had numerous invitations to go try out for Jr teams but he declined as he wanted to stay at home. He didn't like the city. Barb informed me that he went away to a city (Edmonton) and after two days phoned his dad to come and get him. An entry in his grad yearbook indicated that in the future he wanted to open a franchise business in Maidstone or Lloyd, and just recently Chris was talking to his parents about his plans to build on a parcel of land close to where Clay and Barb reside. He talked about settling down and starting a family. Chris graduated from Maidstone High School in June of 2006 and immediately went to work on the oil rigs. From there he had a short stint in a steam truck, worked for NAB holdings for a year and was now working for Universal Industries in Lloyd. In whatever job he undertook he always wanted to do well. I understand that once when he was cleaning out the steam truck he took the finish off the dash of the truck rubbing so hard thinking that it was oil. Clay says that Chris could do anything if he just put his mind to it. He didn't know much about playing rugby but when he went to Lashburn to play I've been told that he hit anything that came in his direction. Another accomplishment for Chris was building an ice shack with Shae under the scrutiny of an uncle. I understand there were a few challenges and disagreements with how it was to be done but into the wee hours of the morning the boys were very proud of their product. Barb was chuckling as she described to me the two boys inside their ice shack visualizing where they were going to put themselves and all of their gear. One of Chris' most recent accomplishments was welding together a barbecue in his spare time. Using scraps of metal and a little guidance from Shae the barbecue was finished. (Clay says it only took six weeks). Chris certainly loved the outdoors. The ice shack they built was used on numerous occasions. Imagine this...ice fishing in the winter - getting out on the late at 7:00 a.m. - getting off the lake at 4:00 p.m. - being stuck the whole time - and still having the time of your life! On another occasion Chris, Shae and Jason were fishing at Mistihey Lake. There they were trolling along in the SOS Minnow, which was Chris' grandpa's boat. Visualize this three fairly big guys trolling along in a little boat just inches out of the water. Shae wasn't paying attention to his fishing rod when a fish struck the line and the rod flew out the back of the boat. He frantically told Chris to throw it in reverse so he could get his rod. Chris looked back at him and said, "Don't worry I'll catch your rod with my hook" and started to reel in his line. To the boys surprise he caught the rod by the last eye with his hook and upon reeling the line on that rod in they still caught the fish that pulled the rod out of the boat. Clay tells of another fishing trip when they were up to Waterhen when Chris was about 10 and he knelt on a fishing hook embedding it into his knee. In quite a bit of pain Chris chose to have his dad pull it out rather than taking the time to drive into Meadow Lake. So, in about three seconds after pinching Chris' ear to distract him, the hook was out but Chris continued to cry until he saw Clay holding it out to the side. Maybe they should have taken the time to have gone into Meadow Lake because I understand that the same day when they were out fishing on the lake Chris got accidentally knocked into the water when someone turned around on the swivel chair at the front of the boat and he wasn't wearing his life jacket. Of course Clay was frantically scrambling to get to Chris and just before he jumped into the water up come Chris proudly displaying the fishing rod he was holding on to. Well, Chris really did love the outdoors and some of you may not know that whether it was fishing, hunting or ice fishing the most important thing that he made sure to take along was toilet paper. Chris was also known to be a jokester and a story teller. Jean McPherson remembers a sturdy redheaded guy who always wanted to share stories in Kindergarten. His stories would start out believable enough, but then he would "remember" an extra detail (i.e., "No, maybe it wasn't one deer...I think it was five") and before she knew it, he had spun another long, fantastic story. When he was questioned about his story, he would solemnly assert that he'd told it exactly the way it happened. Some Chris' friends remember him having a great sense of humour. He was the kind of person that on occasions would make everyone laugh so hard that they'd end up crying. He has this trait where he could always turn a dull party around. Another entry in his grad yearbook indicated that Chris was known for being a risk taker. Clay and Barb were quite strict when it came to wearing helmets when riding the quad but unknown to them Chris would take his helmet off and hide it once he left the yard and put it back on when he returned. Clay and Barb were quite shocked and upset when he came home from high school one day with his head shaved, but he thought it was neat! Another example of being a risk taker was, as a young teenager, Chris was helping out the Franks family branding cattle. Chris was bound and determined that he could wrestle the calf to the ground but it came barreling out of the shoot - knocked him over - he got up all covered in dirt ready to do it again. Skiing in Jasper for the first time was quite an experience for Chris. The first couple of runs were not bad for Chris as he was taking it easy. But then, twenty minutes later he was an Olympic Gold material skier now and was taking on a double black diamond run. Starting off the run was looking good for Chris as he slowly proceeded going back and forth. Pretty soon his turns were getting tighter and tighter and before you knew it he was barreling straight down the hill going Mach 1. All of a sudden he hit a little drop, got some air time, catches a ski in the snow and does a face plant. His other ski went flying about 10 meters further down the hill. The cloud of snow settled as his buddies skied down to him. They thought he had been knocked out as he was groggy and bleeding from the nose. By this time the rest of his friends were laughing so hard and all he could say was, "I think we should take it easy for a bit!" Just recently, Chris showed a keen interest in horseback riding. Barb says she would have loved to have been a "fly on the wall" at Lamlee's when Chris and Shae were trying on their "western" boots and hats. They were very proud of their purchases and before long were well on their way much to Barb's delight. The only thing she didn't enjoy was cleaning up after the horses when the boys got to close to the lawn! Many of Chris' friends have said that Chris, or "Big Guy" was always there for them. Whenever you called him, he was there for you. He always found time and made time to be with his friends. He was very polite, the kind of man who would open doors for ladies. He got into a few disagreements with other people because his friends may have been getting teased or pushed around and he didn't want to see them get hurt so he came to their defence. A few friends recalled that it was comforting to have him by their side as they walked through the West Edmonton Mall being stared down by groups of other teens. They always felt safe. On one occasion some friends had rolled their vehicle into a slough and Chris was there in an instant. He quickly ripped his shirt off, tore into the water and carried some of his friends to safety. Chris' friends will always remember him as not having a shirt on or having it open to proudly expose his hairy chest. In the dead of winter when Barb or Clay would ask him to get something from outside, out he would go without putting anything else on. Some of Chris' friends recalled going down a drifted side road in the middle of winter and even though Cash suggested turning around Chris plunged ahead and they got stuck. He quickly got out without a jacket and took off down the road and summoned help. On another occasion Chris had some friends over to camp in the backyard and even though everyone else was bundled up into sleeping bags Chris grabbed a crinkly tarp and made do with that. As Chris was growing up he often demonstrated that he wanted to follow his parents directions and do as they said. Clay recalled the time when Chris was about two years old and they were still toilet training him. Because they were out on a farm Clay told Chris that if you really needed to go then you did just that. Lo and behold awhile later Clay took Chris into town with him and while he was talking to someone in front of the Main Street Café he heard some chuckles and looked across the street to see Chris beside the parked car, with his training pants around his ankles doing his business in the clear view of everyone else. How do you give them heck at a time like that! On another occasion Chris was asking Clay for some pointers on fighting in hockey as they were going to have a return match from another town and Chris was warned from a player that he would get him. Knowing who the other player was Clay advised Chris to wrap his arms around him and take him to the ground staying on top. Well, instead of this happening, they went at it toe to toe. Back in the dressing room, all pumped up from the excitement, knuckles bleeding Chris asked his dad, "How'd I do?" Clay told him that he had certainly beat up the other player's mask pretty bad. Chris may not have been exactly a teenage angel, but he was a cheerful, bright, fun-loving kid. He was good natured and above all kindhearted. We know that he dearly loved his mom, dad, and family and friends. He became part of my family through my son as well as playing on our "Family" July 1st ball team. We needed someone to hit home runs! Chris loved and was proud of his brothers. He would go to Cash and Cayle's hockey games and seeing them throw a hit or score a goal he would jump up and shout "That's my brother!" - louder than any of the hockey mom's. As the teenage years passed Chris became more attached to his family and he would often text Clay 3 or four times a day, sometimes just to talk or ask for advice. Clay didn't like texting and Chris didn't like paying for it or answering his phone so Clay would phone Shae and he would then relay the message to Chris. Barb would cook for three or four more because she knew that her fridge would soon be raided. All the potentials in him, which he showed to us as he matured and that had appeared, are now gone. Chris may have left some things undone and others that he never had a chance to start but I know that during his life Chris impacted his family and friends with little parts of himself such as love, compassion, encouragement, helpfulness, loyalty and his love for the outdoors among many others. If you want to remain in touch with Chris who has passed away, all you need to do is go on with your life. Live your life to the fullest. Be all that you can be. Express all that you have learned from knowing Chris. Share your memories and your feelings with others. That's what he would want you to do. Chris can be remembered as someone who was "As tough as nails on the outside - but like a Teddy Bear on the inside." I believe that Chris was given the name "Big Guy" not because of his physical attributes or his presence, but because of the size of his heart! Donations may be made to the charity of the donors choice.