Christopher Alan Valesquez

CHRISTOPHER 'CHRIS' ALAN VALESQUEZ Chris was a Christmas baby born on Christmas Day in 1965. What a special gift he was to his family. He was a small baby born with a cleft palate and had to stay in the hospital until he gained some weight. Because of the cleft palate he had to be fed with a special syringe. After about a week or so and no weight gain, mom talked the doctor into letting him go home with her. Well all it took was a mother's love and patience because it wasn't long before he gained weight. After 18 months Chris had surgery to repair the cleft palate which was successful. When Chris was starting to talk he couldn't say Kathy's name so he called her Sissy which a lot of the family still calls her to this day. Chris and Sissy had a special bond from the early years and that bond continued through the years. When Chris was about 4 or 5 years old, he liked to listen to some old 45 records on his very own record player. He used his ears as a hanging rack for the 45 records. What a sight that was. This started his interest in music. First, it was the drums and then it was an organ. I think he drove mom and dad crazy, but his love for music never faded. When he was young, the family went camping a lot which Chris enjoyed. After one outing, somehow or another we forgot him and we didn't realize it until we were about 5 miles from the campsite. When we got back to the campsite, Chris was sitting on a log with a look that said 'it's about time.' Chris was about 10 years old at the time. Chris must of had a yearning to be an actor because he and his brother Gary, and cousins Lisa and Ann made homemade movies using an 8 mm camera. He was a ham in front of the camera. Talk about a bunch of crazy kids having fun. He took a lot of pride in his home which gave him pleasure and he was always doing some renovation. It was during this time that his struggles began. It was difficult on the family to see him troubled. We did what we could to get help for him and for a time he was angry with the family, but by the grace of God, he got himself together. Eventually he reconciled with the family. Chris was a generous person. If he saw someone in need, he did what he could to help them even if it meant taking a homeless person home with him. And of course he was thankful to the people who helped him. Chris had a love for math and thus worked in accounting. He was also enrolled at Front Range Community College with classes in accounting and income tax. He also did work study at the college. In talking to his friends and counselors at the school, they had nothing but good things to say about Chris - how he always stayed beyond his time to help if needed and how he filled in for someone else so that person could go home for Thanksgiving. He had a good and generous heart. He was happy at school with his new found friends. His family and friends will miss him dearly. We are thankful for the wonderful memories we have of Chris and this Christmas Day will be bittersweet for we will miss him but we also know he is at peace and with our Lord. Our love will always be with him.