CHRISTOPHER STRICKLAND

Jack and Sandi,

I have no idea of the hurt and pain you have in the loss of your only son.

Kiran,

I have no idea of the hurt and pain you have in the loss of your Dad.

Please know that my very deepest sympathy goes to each of you.

What I do know is that Chris lives on in Kiran. You cannot look in Kiran's big brown eyes and not see Chris. You cannot look at Kiran's love of music and not see Chris. You cannot look at Kiran's personality...

Chris was one of a kind! That's for sure. We usually butted heads on most occasions, but that didn't make me love him any less. Chris was the person in my life who told me about myself in ways I didn't want to know. I always knew he was capable of great things, I always wanted to guide him towards the best of situations, it was a mission for me. I'll never forget our times at Surin and Acapulco. I'm gonna miss your sweet face and constant criticism lol. I'm gonna miss you man.
-Jackie

It's been a few years since I had seen Chris but it always nice to run into him when i did. He had the greatest outlook on life. He will always hold a special place in my heart. I am glad to have had the pleasure to have known him.

Kiran, you were the one thing/person that your father ALWAYS talked about. Know that everyone is looking out for you and that we all love you. I am keeping you and your family in my prayers.

Through sick & sin, bro, you & I were LEGENDARY. You, with the Green Lantern Hoodie & me, with my Batman- styled utility belt. We were angels with dirty faces, out to guard our peops & feed our fam. We had the dopest wings, the earth could provide for us & now, YOUR wings are so much nicer than mine.

You were the "bad cop" & I was the "good cop", "Wild Bill" to my "Charlie Utter", you were Nightwing to my Batman, Sinatra to my Sammy D. & now, you're being the Jesus to my Paul, to...

Chris was a truly amazing person. To his friends, he was rock-steady, ROCK SOLID to be exact. You always knew that if you were struggling with something in your life and needed somebody to understand and walk you through, you could count on Chris. Chris seemed to know exactly what you needed to hear, and that makes sense, because Chris was always fighting upstream, and chances were that he had actually been where you were at some point. Chris didn't just let life happen to him, Chris LIVED...

I met Chris in 2001. He was out and about in Southside. The first thing I noticed about him was his poise and confidence. The way he moved and carried himself was absolutly unique to him. He had a very straight forward way of seeing things. He would tell you the truth whether you wanted to hear it or not. He loved his son more than life itself. There is nothing he would not have done for his boy. He and I spent several hours talking about life. He certainly had some interesting veiws about it...

He instituted a legacy that must now be carried on in his absence. Even though he will be dearly missed, he will always be close to our hearts.

Kiran, you will never be alone. You have more people looking out for you than ever before. We love you kid.

Steve

Chris,
I still remember when you were just 6 or 7 and wanted to come and play at my house; you would come and ask me if you could babysit Justin for me…it was just adorable.

You have made your mother so proud and blessed her with an amazing grandson...Kiran. I know that God must have a grand plan for you and I am sure that you are up for the task at hand. I just want you to know that you will be greatly missed and we will see you again in heaven.

Sandi,
I am...

My dearest Christopher...Mine and your dad's hearts are so broken. We miss you so much we hardly know what to do. You were so precious to us and such a joy to our lives and we will forever miss you and love you. You were our baby and we were so priviledged to have you as "our" son and we are so thankful that God gave you to us for the time we had you. Going on with life without you will be the hardest thing we will ever have to do but for you we will. And we will always make sure that...