Christine McNamara Wisniewski

Christine McNamara Wisniewski passed away in her apartment on May 6, 2023, in Pasadena, California. She was 75 years old.
Chris was born in Spokane, Washington, the daughter of Miles and Ellen McNamara.
She spent her childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with summers either at her grandparents' farm in Nebraska, or camping and rock climbing in the Tetons with her parents and brother Pat.
After graduating as valedictorian from Nicolet High School in Milwaukee, she went west for college, and graduated from Stanford University in 1970 with a B.A. in Fine Art. After a brief move to Chicago, she returned to San Francisco in 1973 and enrolled at the Art Institute of San Francisco. There, she met fellow art student Ray Wisniewski, and their long walks through the hills of San Francisco marked the beginning of a 49-year-long romance.
In 1976, Chris and Ray moved to Sonoma County, eventually owning a home just outside of Sebastopol. They married in 1981. Chris and Ray ran a small greeting card and jewelry business that took them up and down the California coast, an organic worm farm, and an illustration business for children's educational materials. Their son Nicholas was born in 1986. Shortly after, Chris began the second stage of her career as an office manager, first at a San Francisco law firm, then for the City of Santa Rosa. She retired in 2010.
Chris loved art and the beauty of California's wilderness. She took particular joy in plein-air watercolor painting, and was a member of the Monday Morning Painters in Sonoma County and the Art Workshop of Western Sonoma County. She exhibited her work at the Bodega Artisan's Co-Op gallery. On weekends, Chris and the family enjoyed trips to San Francisco to visit art museums and enjoy fine dining. She was a lifelong Stanford Cardinal football fan, and held season tickets for many years.
Her health began to decline in 2021, and following Ray's passing in August of 2022, she moved to Southern California. She spent her last days watching sunsets over the Angeles Mountains, exploring the museums and gardens of Pasadena, and playing with her grandson Otto.
She is survived by her brother Patrick (Linda), her son Nicholas (Arielle), and her grandson Otto. Her family will miss her greatly.
A memorial service will be held June 24, 2023, at 1:00 p.m. at Pleasant Hills Memorial Park, 1700 Pleasant Hill Road, Sebastopol, California.