Chris was born at Fort Polk, Louisiana as his dad was in the Army and stationed there. Chris was named for his great grandfather Christopher on his dad's Italian side, and his great grandfather on his mother's Greek side. He was very proud of the name Dionysius because he really liked his Greek heritage. His head stone has the Greek key design around the border, he would have liked that. He wanted to make a trip to Greece with me. Chris started pre-school at Fort Ord, California where we lived for 3 years, then at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and then in Palmyra, New Jersey. He went to kindergarten and 1st grade in Pirmasens, Germany where we lived for 2 years. We moved to Redding where his grandparents lived when we left Germany and he started school here and went to St. Joseph's School which is the same school I had gone to as a child. School was very difficult for Chris as he had continual health problems and had a hard time keeping up. After going to private tutoring for a while, reading got so much better for him. He eventually graduated from Sequoia Middle School and then went on to high school here. He worked for a restaurant here, The Olive Garden, and had thoughts of becoming a chef. He also worked at a Truck Stop and felt that he was earning good money in tips from the truckers who liked his willingness to work hard for them. He loved to read about WWII, any movies about it. He knew all about the generals and commanders in the German forces. He had great interest in Army aircraft and could identify most of the planes from WWII and into the current time. Politics were of great interest to him. He was generous to a fault, he would give anything he owned to someone who might need it. He brought home kids to live with us all the time. At one point we had two boys living with us while he was in high school. He was very devoted to all the senior citizens who were his grandparents' friends. He adored his grandmother and grandfather. He especially loved his Aunt Lolly who is my best friend. He spent many summers visiting her in Los Angeles. He loved going to Louisiana to visit his Aunt and Uncle in New Orleans and his other grandparents in Dallas, Texas. Because we had so little family, he was very attached to the family members he got to know. He was devoted to his Grandfather who died March 23, 1998. He felt lost after his grandpa died. Chris died 40 days later, May 2, 1998.