James Christopher Otis Clise

1962 - 2024

James Christopher Otis Clise passed away peacefully at age 62 on New Year's Eve, 2024. A native of Westminster, Maryland, Chris is survived by his wife, Andrea Tesno Clise, two daughters, Nicole McRae of Murray, UT, Alix Clise of Westminster, MD, and a nephson, Matthew Clise of Bowers Beach, DE, as well as grandson, Ryatt McRae. He is additionally survived by his loving siblings, Jennifer Munch of Westminster, MD, Veronica (Larry) Bohn of Woodbine, MD, R. Keith Clise of Denver, CO, and Sarah (Rick) Sampson of Round Rock, TX. Wherever he goes after this, he'll be meeting up with his father, James Dale Clise, mother, Jean Kathryn Borror Clise, beloved brothers-in-law Tom Munch, Gino Snyder, and William Tesno, and close friend, Michael Barnes. Chris was one of the coolest people you'd ever met- and if you think otherwise, you are lying to yourself. A multi-instrumental musician, producer, sound engineer, songwriter, and singer, Chris loved to entertain. Live music was always a theme in his life- playing it, watching it, recording it, or just headbanging to it. Rush was his favorite and if you've ever heard him cover Geddy Lee, you would know why. He was a Deadhead, through and through, and loved John Mayer in the band. Alongside music, Chris loved everything "space". He felt humbled under the great sky, captivated by the stars, and awestruck by the unknown. He was inspired by Carl Sagan. Chris was also an Alien wizard. He spent his career as a civil engineer working for private firms, as well as the Carroll County Government, including construction of the Northern Landfill. Chris loved animals, especially his puppies, above most else. When he gets to his final destination, he'll be smothered in kisses by many, many furry babies, including Ming, Biscuit, Yoda, Muffin, Pepper, Sallie, Tori, Rufus, Kramer, Chip and Buddy. Born on January 8th,1962, Chris was involved in a little bit of everything. He was a Life Scout, played lacrosse, joined the school band, and ran the Westminster High School radio station, WOWL. A member of the Westminster High School class of 1980, Chris graduated in the fall semester of 1979 to join his family, who had relocated to Salt Lake City. There, he brought into the world his first love, Nicole Irene (1982). After returning to the east coast, Chris was introduced to his wife, Andrea Tesno, through his baby sister, Sarah. Chris and Andie tied the knot in the rain on September 16th, 1989. The two built their dream home in 1995, and added their youngest addition, Alexandrea Dale Kathryn in 1997. In 2005, his nephew, Matthew Alec, moved in to attend college and became a nephson. Chris suffered from a spinal injury as a child that was then re-injured in 1996. No matter how much pain he was in, though, he made sure the family around him knew they were the light of his life. In 2011, another devastating hit came with the diagnosis of stage 4 laryngeal cancer. He fought bravely and entered remission in early 2012. Chris enjoyed seven years of remission before the cancer returned, requiring a total laryngectomy in October of 2019. Although his quality of life changed, Chris fought harder than before. He had three more relapses, and faced each one with more tenacity than the last. Chris won his battle with cancer by living his best life each day. He simply decided it was time to explore what the rest of the universe has to offer past our terrestrial experience. The family sends their gratitude to Drs. Jeffrey Wolf and Kevin Cullen, as well as Nurse Practitioners Angela Drewniak and Rachel Moore. Your compassion for Chris's care and dedication to your work has touched us beyond words. A celebration of life will be held at Pritts Funeral Home on Sunday, January 5th from 1:00pm-3:00pm. Funeral services will be rendered at the funeral home following visitation. For those unable to attend in person, the service will be livestreamed on the funeral home website homepage www.prittsfuneralhome.com. We ask that all guests wear their favorite tie-dye, band t-shirt or Ravens gear. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center at https://www.umms.org/umgccc/giving, the American Cancer Society and Lary's Speakeasy at https://larysspeakeasy.org.