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In Memory of Christopher Edward Sheets 10/11/74 - 10/12/02 Son, Friend, & Mentor

"Good night sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest!" (Shakespeare's Hamlet)   Chris was hiking with a friend at the Big Bend National Park in Southwest Texas when he collapsed of hyperthermia (heat stroke) and died.  He had not been taking anything with ephedra in it and there was no evidence of any other drugs.    He was one day past his 28th birthday.  He had just completed his MBA at the University of Phoenix and had taken a trip to Australia to celebrate.  He was enjoying life (a big Chicago Bear fan), was successful in his career, and had many good friends. Words cannot express the hole in our hearts.   Chris's sister-in-law found this poem (in Chris's handwriting) next to his telephone after he died:   My purpose in life it to help people     Across the street     Across the hall     Across the border     Across the ocean     Across the world To understand what each other is like To help them walk a mile in each other's shoes So that people live more in peace, love and honor of one another.   Now you understand why we love him.   Memory Garden Established in Chris's Honor at "Literacy Austin," in Austin, Texas, where Chris was a volunteer
Chris bungie jumping in Australia, July, 2002	Chris with Joe the Dog	Chris on his 27th birthday
Chris hiking at Big Bend, October 11, 2002	Chris hiking at Big Bend, October 11, 2002	Chris, lunch time, October 12, 2002
Glen's Eulogy for Chris on October 18, 2002   Guy Man My grief compels me to tell you about this guy I know Knew I struggle with verb tense just now He was a “guy” in every way possible A fat fingered guy with freckles He was fashion impaired For him, brown plaid flannel was the all occasion fabric Fabulous was never an attitude he owned   He loved to laugh with you and at you with a maniacal laugh tempered by a cherubic grin   There was hockey and revelry in buxom women with a fondness for dance Red Stripe beer and a dog unpretentiously named Joe An unsettling good Darth Vader impression at the least appropriate time   Quick was he with a never-mind-what’s-in-it-drink-it admonishment Followed the next day with a you-knew-what–you-were-getting-into-I–say-suffer-smirk An avid fan and skilled player of the pull my finger game So skilled, truth be known, one rarely needed to pull his finger   Thus far unremarkable, just a guy   I also need to tell you about this extraordinary man I know Knew Still struggling with the tense   Wicked smart With books and with people Blessed with a clarity of vision to the core of most problems To the core of me Unaffected, endlessly decent and loyal A bluntly gentle critic meting out justice and compassion judiciously Like Solomon with a buzz cut   There was a love of words and ideas The simple and profound The ribald and the righteous Embracing the free exchange of each   He knew the best things about me and would remind me when I had forgotten He knew the worst things about me, but never really cared     I will miss this guy, this man I knew There, I resolved the tense struggle I will miss the sweet duplicity of the man child I will miss both what we shared as confidants and grieve for what we would have shared     Actually miss is too small a word to convey what I—we feel This loss stretches to a place beyond language To the place where our grief can only be let out in small staccato breaths and clenched fists Our solace too is there, quietly waiting for us to find it     Glen J "Curiosity is the very basis of education and if you tell me that curiosity killed the cat, I say only the cat died nobly." ~Arnold Edinborough   "To Where You Are"   Who can say for certain Maybe you're still here I feel you all around me Your memory's so clear. Deep in the stillness I can hear you speak You're still an inspiration Can it be that you are my Forever love And you are watching over me from up above? Fly me up to where you are Beyond the distant star I wish upon tonight To see you smile If only for awhile to know you're there A breath away's not far To where you are. Are you gently sleeping Here inside my dream And isn't faith believing All power can't be seen? As my heart holds you Just one beat away I cherish all you gave me everyday 'Cause you are my Forever love Watching me from up above. And I believe That angels breathe And that love will live on and never leave. Fly me up To where you are Beyond the distant star I wish upon tonight To see you smile If only for awhile To know you're there A breath away's not far To where you are. I know you're there A breath away's not far To where you are.   Chris's story of the day God came to Garcia's Pizza Chris's poem for Mom, Christmas, 1993 Memorial for Chris at GriefNet.org The Broken Chain   We little knew that morning that God was going to call your name. In life we loved you dearly; in death we do the same. It broke our hearts to lose you. You did not go alone. For part of us went with you the day God called you home. You left us precious memories. Your love is still our guide. And though we cannot see you, you are always by our side. Our family chain is broken and nothing seems the same. But as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.   ~Author Unknown~   And He took a child, and set him in the midst of them; and when He had taken him in His arms He said unto them, "Whosoever shall receive one of such children in My name, receiveth Me; and whosoever shall receive Me, receiveth not Me, but Him that sent Me." Mark 9:36-37   Contact Chris's mom   He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Psalm 40:2, KJV