Chris LaFlame

If we are very lucky, we have someone in our lives who demonstrates all those great characteristics of the Jedi; he’s strong, resourceful, a seeker of knowledge and truth and always caring; making the world a better place by being here among us.

Chris LaFlame was one of those rare individuals, and we lost him on January 24th, 2022.

Chris was born, July 10, 1964, and raised in Nashua, NH.  He is predeceased by his parents Richard Eugene and Theresa Marie LaFlame, and his brother Tom.  He leaves behind the love of his life and wife, Mary Katherine LaFlame who, as he proudly proclaimed in his wedding vows “after 50 years of crawling through glass they finally found each other.”   Chris leaves behind his brothers Peter LaFlame of Salisbury, Vt; and John LaFlame, Wingate, NC; Steve LaFlame of Newport, NH; sisters in law Martha LaFlame and Bonnie Six and multiple nephews and a niece. He also leaves behind all of us - far too many to list, but you know who you are - who loved and shared our lives with him, most notably his lifelong best bud Dan “Danny” Desautels of Raymond, New Hampshire, Robin Shanklin, who was “Robin” to Chris’s “Batman” at Eberl, and Chris’s Sister of the Heart at Eberl, Aela Zamecki, of Wyandotte, Michigan.

After getting certified to drive race cars in the Bondurant racing school in Arizona, Chris took a leap of faith to fulfill his lifelong dream of working in NASCAR and moved to NC.  There he ran shops for multiple teams and drivers and also had a lengthy stint as jackman for several pitcrews, jumping over more walls than he cared to count, always hoping the driver hadn’t lost brakes. The detail and the precision that he learned in NASCAR he channeled into a love of spreadsheets. 

Chris chronicled his life and his vast interests in the models that he so meticulously crafted, and of course documented each with its own spreadsheet(s).  As most of the LaFlame boys did, Chris started early building, painting, and displaying models.  He however took it to new and uncharted heights. His award-winning dioramas that captured his parents’ lives during WWII. For his mom, a WAC, he created aerial scenes; and his dad’s life as a 10th Armored Division Tiger in Bastogne and D-Day he recreated the vehicles his father drove during the war. Chris also built hundreds of NASCAR models, several of which were models of cars he helped design and build in real life.

Chris’s fascination with Star Wars, which he and his friend, Danny insist “changed the course of their lives”, culminated in his completion of a year-long, completely hand built life size model of Han Solo frozen in Carbonite, from one of the Star Wars movies.  As with everything for Chris, he did research into the most minute of details to ensure that his art reflected the true genius of life.  Authenticity was a hallmark of Chris’s life.

He was stable, solid, and dependable.  He gave willingly of himself, mentoring countless team members at Eberl, and other modelers.  He was known for his quick, sharp wit in his text messages, which he always wanted to put into a book called “Texting With Robin.”

Chris could give you a hug that you would gladly have paid for, they were that good.  Since he was loved by all, his hugs were in high demand.

Music was another vital part of Chris’s life.  Whether it was going to concerts or strumming on one of his own guitars, Chris always had music surrounding him.  His affection for guitars led to naming his and Mary’s beautiful dog-babies Fender and Gibson, and he loved playing his Telecaster that Mary surprised him with for Christmas last year.

A life cut far too short, Chris had many models left to build; hugs to share; friends to help and mentor; time and love to share with Mary and an unfulfilled dream to write his book “Texting with Robin”.  Chris will be missed by us all; our lives are far better having had him in it for those fleeting seconds.

Chris lived his life on his own terms, but always ethically.  

May the force be with you Chris!

Service will be held February 8, 2022 at Southcare Cremation and Funeral Society 225 Curie Drive Suite 100 Alpharetta GA 30005 from 1 to 3 PM.