Wednesday, November 8, 2017
Warm hearted, generous, and gifted, he displayed a remarkability to light up a room with his smile and corny jokes. Chris was the single most proud man I have ever met when it came to the dignity of labour. He appreciated when people recognized his efforts, but never sought out validation in earning that days pay. I was very young when I worked with Chris, and he showed me much. I doubt I would still be working at Halterm today if it was not for his mentorship. When I think of Chris, I think of a man who I never saw eat lunch. I think of a man who mistrusted doctors, and enjoyed the simple act of going for a drive in the country. I think of a man who told me over and over about the time he met Alice Cooper at his family’s video store, and I pretended that I had never heard it. I think of a man who loved to cook, and finally renunited with the girl he said who was the one who got away. What I don’t care to remember are the past years, and how his pride, strength, and virility were stripped from him. While the phone was silent over the past few years, guilt replaced the willpower for me to call, as I wanted to think of you how I remembered you best. Chris, thank you. Thank you for being my friend. To Denice and the people who never lost the willpower to give up on you, I thank you too. I’m sure you Mom is smiling up there knowing you two can share a coffee like you once did. Until I see you again one day Old Man, I remain, your friend…Youngin.
Tony Sanderson
Dartmouth, NS
