John Christopher

Good and Faithful Servant Age 83, a resident of Albuquerque since 1932, passed away after suffering a gallimaufry of illnesses. Wednesday, January, 23, 2013. John/Jack/Chris is survived by his spouse, Pauline McClain Christopher (Polly) of Albuquerque, NM; children, daughter in law, Kathy Seekamp Christopher of Sunland, CA; son, Warren McClain Christopher; daughter, Cindy Marie Johns and husband, Willie James Sr.; daughter, Susan Christopher Taylor and husband, Michael Glenn all from Albuquerque, NM; half-brother, Rowan (Ozzie) Christopher of South Dakota; grandchildren, Matthew Caine Christopher and wife, Susan Elie Christopher of Castaic, CA, James Andrew Christopher and wife, Soraya Simons Christopher of Albuquerque, NM, Anna Kathleen Christopher of Glendale, CA, Erin Renee Johns Manzanares and husband David Alex of Albuquerque, Willie James Johns, Jr. and wife Melissa T. Johns of Las Cruces, NM, Michael Christopher Taylor and Steven Montgomery Taylor of Albuquerque, NM; great-grandchildren, John Addis Christopher, III and Robert Henry Christopher of Castaic, CA, James Napoleon Christopher, Emily Morgan Christopher, Zachary David Christopher of Albuquerque, NM, Carys Rose Christopher of Glendale, CA, Kayla Jordan Johns of Las Cruces, NM, Lilliana Marie Manzanares and Alejandro James Manzanares of Albuquerque, NM; and a multitude of sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews and friends. John was preceded in death by his father, Vernon Hall Christopher; mother, Kathryn Lucile Addis Christopher Browne; sister, Betty Ann Christopher Terry; half-sisters, Barbara Christopher Brown, Janene LaVon (Bobbie) Browne Dalton, Patsy Gayle Browne, and Marilyn (Mari) Payson Browne Noack; son, John Addis Christopher, Jr.; and daughters in law, Melba Dunagan Christopher and Clare Cano Christopher. He was born February 5, 1929 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Chris worked at Sandia National Labs from 1949 to 1984 and was a member of the Chelwood Park Foursquare Church in Albuquerque for many years. Memorial service will be held Friday, February 1, 2013 at 3:00 p.m. at FRENCH - Mortuary, 10500 Lomas Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM with Rev. Kathy Christopher and Rev. Philip Hyde officiating. Interment will take place at Sunset Memorial Park. Pallbearers include Warren Christopher, Willie J. Johns, Sr., M. Glenn Taylor, Matthew C. Christopher, Willie J. Johns, Jr., Michael C. Taylor, Steven M. Taylor, and Andy Ruggerio. James A. Christopher will play bagpipes. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Young At Heart Ministries, the Salvation Army or Hosanna Ministries of Albuquerque, NM. Remembering Chris a mini biographyJohn Addis Christopher was born on February 5, 1929 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Vernon Hall “Bill” and Kathryn Lucile Addis Christopher. If you knew John as a child growing up in Albuquerque, you would have called him Jack. As an adult working at Sandia Labs, you knew him as Chris. His grandchildren called him Grandpa Chris, his great grandchildren, Grandpa Jack.Jack’s older sister, Betty Ann, suffered from a variety of respiratory illnesses and, at doctors’ advice, Kathryn moved with Betty Ann to Southern California, leaving Bill and 2-year old Jack in South Dakota. Bill moved to Albuquerque to have family support for him and his son.The distance proved to be too much of a challenge and Jack’s parents divorced when he was 3. Eventually, Bill turned over his young son to be raised by Emma and Clara Case. Emma and Clara were two wonderful women who, though not related by blood, agreed to raise this young boy who would otherwise be orphaned. “Aunt Emma” and “Aunt Clara” were constant pillars and influences well into Jack’s adulthood.Jack was a very resourceful teenager who at the age of 16 had already built a house for the Aunts. At age 18, he was working three jobs to support himself. One of those jobs was at a movie theater, where he met Pauline “Polly” McClain. Despite very different backgrounds and constant bickering, they fell for each other and were married on April 2, 1948. Jack wooed Polly through delightful poetry. Here’s the one that closed the deal for her.Many thanks from me to you for your candy good and sweet.It hit the spot just like you do from me head down to me feet.In February of 1948, one of Jack’s friends got him a job as a level 2 materials handler at Sandia National Laboratories. Within a year he had been promoted to a level 6 team leader. For the rest of his 36 years at Sandia Labs, Chris would be a manager who found great favor with superiors and subordinates alike. He was known for being tough, but fair, and advocating for equity in the workplace for women and minorities. His work at Sandia allowed him to attend many college courses and although he never earned a college degree he was highly educated. Chris retired from Sandia in 1984.Given his fragmented childhood, family was very important to Chris. In February 1950, Polly gave birth to John Addis “Buddy” Christopher, Jr. Buddy was joined by Warren McClain in November of 1952, Cindy Marie in January of 1956, and Susan Gayle in August of 1960. The family continued to grow in 1971 when Budd married Kathy Seekamp in June and Warren married Melba Dunagan in October. Cindy married Willie Johns in August 1978 and Susie married Glenn Taylor in May 1981. The next generation began in 1974 when Budd and Kathy brought Matt into the world (February) and Warren and Melba had Andy in April. Budd and Kathy’s second child, Anna, was born in October of 1977. Cindy and Willie had Erin in December of 1980 and Willie Jr. in June of 1982. Susie and Glenn finished the generation building strong with Michael in November 1993 and Steven in November of 1994.The family continued to expand when, starting in 1997, great grandchildren entered the picture: Matt’s children, John Addis III “Trey” and Robert “Hobbs” Christopher; Andy’s children, James, Emily, and Zachary Christopher; Anna’s daughter, Carys Christopher; Erin’s children, Lilliana and Alex Manzanares; and Willie Jr.’s daughter, Kayla Johns.Chris loved his extended family. He accepted Polly’s six sisters as his own. He enjoyed having a large local family with the sister-in-law’s husbands and children. Patsy went on many dates with Polly and Chris. Thelma started her family across the street. Shirley lived with the family for a time. Hilda challenged Chris to races in their electric wheel chairs. Chris ranched with Pete, explored the Manzanos and worked on cars with Basil (Fred), shared construction ideas with Bob, played chess with Warren, and RV-ed with Alan. He mourned deeply with any death and divorce affected him personally.Chris found the ultimate belonging when he heard about God as the perfect Father who would never leave him or forsake him. In 1952, a friend and co-worker, Clem Dixon, told his close friends Chris and Warren Copeland about an amazing conference he had attended the previous evening. He challenged his friends to come hear the country preacher, Billy Graham that night. Chris and Polly, Clem and his wife Jerrene accepted Christ as their Savior at the crusade and began their lives as faithful servants. The Dixon’s and Christopher’s remained friends over the years and the interwoven legacy continues through their children in that Clem’s son, Dave Dixon, sings in Young at Heart choir with Chris’s daughter, Cindy, and son-in-law, Willie.Polly and Chris took their family to a neighborhood church where Chris built lifelong friendships with Phil and Sharon Hyde, Jack and Peggy Baillio, and Paul and Connie Atkinson. In addition to serving as an elder, teacher and choir member, Chris served the body of Christ through building projects like supervising the building of Chelwood Park Foursquare Church and the moving of a church building to a vacant lot for a new church body during the Jesus movement of the ‘70’s. He also designed and built the set of fireworks stands used every year for fundraising.The combination of his relationship with Christ and growing up poor and largely fatherless caused Chris to act as provider and father to a number of people throughout time who were deprived in some way of a healthy family environment. The Sunday family table was routinely filled with friends who were struggling and needed a dose of mercy and grace. The Christopher home was open as a foster environment to children in need until a more permanent solution was found.Weekends and free time were filled with a variety of activities. As an avid bowler, Chris’s teams regularly won championship titles. With his young family, Chris would travel around New Mexico hunting for rocks and playing on sand dunes. Occasionally, the family would head out across the desert in the station wagon to visit Chris’s family in Southern California. Although he loved the ocean, he would get seasick after only a short time of being on the water, so beachcombing was the order. Autumn would bring wood cutting season, when Chris would cut up to a dozen cords of wood for the winter. Chris and Polly owned land on Moon Ranch Road off South 14. They spent many picnics collecting piñon nuts and dreaming of building a home there, but eventually opted for city life near family.With his retirement in 1984, Chris was freed up to drive around the country and pursue his interests: grandchildren, genealogy, geology (rock collecting), and “gambling”. A particular joy was for Grandpa Chris to take his grandkids on road trips. Adventures included trips to Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Alaska, Carlsbad Caverns, Disney World, and Lake Powell (for a family reunion).Grandpa Chris combined two passions when he took Matt and Andy on a road trip to the genealogy library in Salt Lake City to study their family history. Through online research, trips to genealogy libraries around the nation, and treks to find gravesites and remote and abandoned cemeteries, he amassed volumes of data on his family history. He was able to trace his family back to the Battle of Hastings. Ironically, he had ancestors on both sides of that engagement. Though his immediate family abandoned him as a child, he was able to construct the large tapestry of his ancestry and recognize his valuable place in it.He always loved rocks and had a vast collection that he had picked up from around the United States and the world. He landscaped his front and back yards with his found treasures. When he retired, he began to invest time and money into rock tumbling. He wanted to knock of the rough edges and uncover the hidden beauty in each of those stones. He panned for gold in several places around the United States too. He never found the big nugget he was after but who knows what the family might find when they clean the garage!Although Chris loved Laughlin, Nevada and the Indian Casinos around Albuquerque, to call what he did gambling would be a stretch. He would play video poker for hours. It’s amazing how long $20 will last when you’re playing nickel and dime poker. He would return from his trips to Laughlin bragging about the Royal Flush he got that won him 5,000 nickels. In the same genre of controlled gambling, Chris was an avid investor. Most afternoons you could find him dozing off in his recliner with the stock ticker streaming across the bottom of FNN (later CNBC). Up until his last weeks he was sharing of his amazing timing at picking the right stocks just before they took off in value.Chris was truly a renaissance man. He loved learning and the arts. He and Polly made silver jewelry for a time. He found joy in using his welding skills in a detailed and artistic manner. Music was never far from his heart. It was woven into the fabric of his being. He loved worship songs, ballads, and songs with silly lyrics. It was common for him to sing at the top of his lungs even while he was asleep. Johnny Cash was a particular favorite of Chris’s; he felt an affinity to Mr. Cash’s struggles and commitment to a redeemed life as expressed through music.Chris was diagnosed with COPD and diabetes in 2005. He called this combination a “gallimaufry of illnesses.” The COPD was caused by years of smoking cigarettes and the diabetes by tons of chocolate covered cherries and Little Debbie’s. While Chris quit smoking in 1995, he never did give up chocolate. Chris’s home-going on January 23rd was ushered by his Albuquerque family. True to form, while the rest of the house was buzzing with activity, Chris took care of the business of dying. Son-in-law, Glenn, sang Chris to glory with “Victory in Jesus” while Polly, Susie and Patsy held his hands and stroked his marvelous silver hair. At the official time of death, the family gathered together, sang “Amazing Grace” and praised God for the gift of Chris’s life. It was truly a holy hand off from this life into the hands of the Father and eternal life.When John Addis Christopher, Sr. reflected on his life, he counted himself infinitely blessed. He was blessed by the financial stability God granted him. He was blessed by a life that extended decades beyond almost anyone else in his family tree. Most importantly, he was blessed by his family. He was proud of his kids, his grandkids, and his great grandkids. The boy who was effectively abandoned by his parents was able to sit back and enjoy the four generations of a quirky, but united and thriving family.

John Christopher

February 5, 1929 - January 23, 2013