Dear Colby Community,
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March 2006  Our dear friend Chris Starz, who graduated last May, recently died in an accident on Interstate 80 east of Rawlings, Wyoming. He was part of a 22-car pile-up caused in part by a zero-visibility blizzard and high winds, which resulted in the deaths of 6 people in total. He was travelling from his most recent home of Park City, Utah, to his real home in Eagle River, Wisconsin. He had planned to go to Florida to teach wakeboarding. Chris's family and friends held a funeral service in Rawlings. It goes without saying how tragic a loss this is to all that knew him. Despite the fact that this loss is so sad, attending the service and listening to his friends and family speak about him let me see this positively. What came out in the countless stories people told and characterizations they made was that Chris was an intensely caring, though sometimes private, person, and he filled the moments that composed his life with a tenacity for living that was contagious and enviable. Someone made the comment that there wasn't a moment when he wasn't getting better at something or doing something to help others with their own ambitions. The service made me realize how much love he had for others and how much people loved him. He seemed to live life with a modesty that fills me with awe. This is a feeling many others shared. He was a musician, a professional wakeboarder, a teacher, a lover, and so many other things, but to catch sight of him around campus, which was rare, or to speak with him, you would never guess all this, and he would never just tell you. I've never met a person that attacked life more than he did, and I am very humbled and grateful to have had Chris as a friend. Many people have lost something with his death, but so many people have gained from knowing him in his life. His death may be tragic, but his life was magnificent and beautiful, and this is the important thing. For any that may want to send their condolences to Chris's family in Eagle River, here is the address: The Starz Family, P.O. Box 1359, Eagle River, WI 54521. The family is also going to hold a memorial weekend for Chris at their summer camp the first weekend in June. If you would like to attend, contact me at duhlmann@gmail.com for more details. Yours truly, |