The Coloradoan Robert “Chris” Christiansen took off work
the last Friday of 2000 to go snowboarding
- one of his passions - near Cameron Pass. But a massive avalanche turned the trip into
a disaster. Christiansen, 40, of Fort Collins was killed
Friday in an avalanche on Diamond
Peaks. His death was a shock to everyone who knew and loved him. Friends remembered Christiansen on Tuesday
as a charming, funny man who cared for
animals, other people and the land. They said he was a fabulous gardener,
outdoorsman and neighbor. Christiansen had worked as a parks technician
for the city of Fort Collins Recreation
Division since 1991. For the past two years, he was responsible
for taking care of City Park. He learned about the different animals
who frequented the park, said parks supervisor Bill Whirty. Whirty said that some days Christiansen would
come to work and write a word on the
blackboard. He'd give his co-workers the day to find the word's meaning and
would challenge them to write a sentence on the same blackboard using that
word. "He cared for the land, and I think
he cared about the stewardship," Whirty said. And he took care of the people in his life,
just like he took care of the city's
parks and animals. Grace Marie and her daughter, Jasmine, moved
next door to Christiansen
and his wife, Susan Amador, nine years ago in the Capitol Hill neighborhood
near Shields Street and LaPorte Avenue. Jasmine, now 19, was an only child being
raised by a single mother. "He became a surrogate father to my
daughter," Grace Marie said of Christiansen. Christiansen spent as much time as he could
with Jasmine. He taught her about the outdoors, about snowboarding,
about athletics and
influenced the music she listens to. She said he took her to her first concert
- Stone Temple Pilots at Red Rocks Amphitheater
in Denver - when she was about 12. Now she is the manager of Crystal Glen Kennel,
and she credits Christensen
with sparking her interest in working with dogs. "Chris is just one of those people that
you always learn something from anytime
you're hanging out with him," Jasmine Marie said. "He'll be severely missed
by everybody who had the honor of meeting him." A memorial
Mass for Robert "Chris" Christiansen will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at
St. Joseph's Catholic Church. Memorial contributions can be made to
the Sierra Club, Zero Population Growth or Negative Population Growth
in care of Bohlender Funeral Chapel. -- © Copyright 2001, the Fort Collins Coloradoan |