Christopher Troy Kitzhaber

Christopher Troy Kitzhaber was born on July 2,1968 to Bill and Paula Kitzhaber in Boise, Idaho. He was their first born child. He was a blonde haired, blue eyed little boy. He became the oldest brother for Jeremy and Jennifer. He later learned of and was able to meet and have a relationship with his half brother, Josh Bartels.
His parents divorced, and in 1979, Rich Florenzen became his step father, whom he has always looked up to and referred to as his dad. He attended Hawthorne Elementary, East Junior High, and Boise High before moving to northern California and graduating from Olympia High. He later learned of and was able to meet and have a relationship with his half brother Josh Bartels.

He married Elisa Ramirez in 1990, and soon came his daughter, Ashleigh Jade on February 22, 1991. In 1993, they divorced, and he moved back to Idaho. He worked a few different jobs before working for Frito Lay, where he worked for several years. In 1999, he met his current wife, Sandy Waddy, and they married in 2000 soon after he moved to Oregon. .They became parents in 2002 to Zachary Richard Samuel and in 2005 to Benjamin Alexander. In 2012, he became a proud grandfather to Aden Raul, and in October, he will have another grandson, Lukas Troy.

When he wasn’t working, he enjoyed many sports, especially baseball and football. He grew to love basketball, as both his sons love to play it and his wife loves to watch it. He was very loyal to his teams, the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco 49ers. He became a Portland trailblazer fan after the team reached out to Zack after his low back surgery. He also enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping, and golf. Over the past few years, God and the church began playing a larger role in his life, and one of his happiest and proudest moments was watching his son Zachary become baptized last August.

Due to the desire for better medical care and educational opportunities for his children, Chris, Sandy, and the boys moved several times, but seemed to always return to Oregon. Most recently, they had moved to southern California, but only 3 weeks later he was offered a great job opportunity in Seattle, WA, prompting the move to Renton. Unfortunately, he had only been in WA 2 weeks exactly when he was taken all too suddenly from us.

He leaves behind his wife, Sandy, his children, Ashleigh, Zachary, and Benjamin, his grandson Aden, his parents Rich and Paula, his brothers Jeremy and Josh, his sister Jennifer, his grandmother Rae, his aunts Joan and Roma, his uncles Wade, Bill, and Rick, several nieces and nephews, numerous cousins, and many good friends whom he also considered to be family.

Psalms 62: 7-8: “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”