Obituary of John Harris Christopher

John Harris Christopher John Harris Christopher died Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, surrounded by family. John was born on May 26, 1928 in Seattle, Washington to Dr. Harris and Mary Henderson Christopher. He married Ann Frost on June 12, 1953 at Church of Epiphany Episcopal Church in Seattle. Survivors include his wife Ann at home in Poughkeepsie; their daughters and spouses, Susan and Tim Roberts of Telford, TN, and Barbara and Jim Monserud of Lafayette, CO; two grandchildren, Joshua Roberts of Perry, FL, and Charity Johnson and her husband, Robert of Roan Mountain, TN; and three great-grandchildren, Hannah and Marcus Roberts, and Lucas Johnson. John graduated from Lincoln High School in Seattle in 1946. He graduated with a degree in electrical engineering from Washington State University in 1956, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He was in the ROTC program and served in the US Army from 1953-1955. John worked for Boeing in Seattle. In 1962 he and his family moved to Massapequa Park, Long Island, and in 1965 to Poughkeepsie, where John went to work for IBM as a test engineer; he worked there until his retirement in 1992. There, he was the recipient of the IBM President's Award. John also attended Zion Episcopal Church in Wappingers Falls, where he was a past co-leader of the youth group and sang in their choir for many years. John was a long-time volunteer for the Special Olympics, coaching, swimming and chaperoning at various competitions as well as being friend and mentor to many Special Olympians. In 1979 he received the Hilda Foster Memorial Award for his service to Special Olympics from Estelle & Alfonso. John was also an avid ice skater and participated in competitions in such places as Chelsea Pines Sky Rink in New York City and Lake Placid. He served as president and board member for Ice Time in Newburgh where he skated regularly, as well as competing and performing in ice shows. He was presented an Award of Excellence for his dedicated service to the Hudson Valley Figure Skating Club in 2005. He enjoyed playing and listening to all kinds of music, and recently had been taking piano lessons. John also played a number of stringed instruments including, guitar, bass guitar, dulcimer, ukulele, kantele and autoharp. He performed in local ensembles and attended an annual dulcimer fest in Albany many times. John was a loving husband and father. Given a choice between two desserts, he would always opt for a little of each. There will be no calling hours. A memorial service will be held on Monday, April 18, 2011 at 11 a.m. at Zion Episcopal Church, 12 Satterlee Place in Wappingers Falls; the Rev. Jean Campbell will officiate. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Zion Episcopal Church, 12 Satterlee Place, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 or a charity of your choice. To send the family a personal condolence, please visit our website at www.StraubCatalanoHalvey.com.