Christine Alyce Stuenkel

Christine Alyce Stuenkel died peacefully in the early morning hours of September 21, 2024, at the age of 68, as a result of complications of an unusual metastatic salivary gland cancer that had been diagnosed 6 years earlier.

Cris was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois, on January 16, 1956, to Lenard and Alyce Stuenkel, and was brought home to the family farm on Sauk Trail in Richton Park, Illinois, where her father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had been born. The family moved to their new farm on 88th Avenue between Steger and Stuenkel roads in Frankfort, Illinois, in February, 1960, when Cris was just four years old. She attended kindergarten at St Paul's Lutheran Church in Chicago Heights, Illinois, Green Garden Elementary School, and Peotone Junior High and High Schools, where she graduated in 1974. She received her BS degree in Physiological Psychology from Valparaiso University in 1978, where she was a member of Kappa Psi Omega sorority, made lifelong friends, and refined her dance moves.

After graduation, she worked briefly for Iovite, Inc. in Matteson, Illinois. She subsequently was hired by IBM in Oakbrook, Illinois, in 1981, and worked in large system design and management in Chicagoland while living in Darien, Glen Elyn, and downtown on Lake Shore Drive. Her time in the Chicago area was marked by serious shopping, an incredible wardrobe, sailing lessons, a knack for home decorating with study at the Design Center at the Merchandise Mart, and her legendary holiday party decorating and table settings.

In 1988, she decided to follow her older sister, Cynthia Stuenkel, and her younger brother, Jeffrey Stuenkel, to southern California, continuing with IBM in the Los Angeles area while living in Marina del Rey, and Long Beach. She left IBM in 1994, and took a work hiatus, travelling extensively in the US and Alaska. In addition to connecting with friends and family, it was a time to enhance her love of nature and appreciation of the beauty and wonder of the natural world.

In 1997, Cris settled in San Diego and made a career pivot to medical research-first at the University of California, San Diego, then monitoring scientific trials with Quintiles in San Diego, followed by cardiovascular research monitoring and safety management with Guidant-later Boston Scientific-based in Minneapolis. At work, she was a mentor to many and highly regarded for her concise and to the point written word, while consistently speaking truth to power. She retired in 2021. Working remotely, Cris initially resided in La Jolla, then in 2012, moved to the mountains of Julian, California, adjacent to the Cleveland National Forest.

Cris had three loves in her life-her family, her friends, and nature. She was a faithful and loving daughter to Lenard and Alyce until their deaths in 1978 at age 56, and 2020 at age 94, respectively. She was a loyal friend to Cindy, of La Jolla, California, and Jeff, of Dadeville, Alabama, and their spouses, Brian Jaski, and Carol Robertson Stuenkel. Her star role was as Aunt Cris to her five nieces and nephews and their growing families. She excelled at bedtime stories and quieting the little ones to sleep. She faithfully attended baptisms, school plays, sports events, and almost all graduations. She will be deeply missed for her kindness, consideration, intuitive gift giving, and creative package wrapping.

Her special friendships spanned decades and she provided treasured visitors with unrivaled hospitality at her mountain sanctuary. She shared in adventure travel to distant lands including forays to France and welcoming the new century with friends in New Zealand, then decades later, returning with them to stand up in their wedding. More recently, she celebrated next generation weddings of friends and family across the US.

Finally, Cris never lost her love of animals and nature. Foremost was her African Grey parrot, Rama, who was familiar to all who visited or spoke with Cris on the phone. Rama was her constant, vocal companion for almost 20 years, until his death from a complicated illness just 3 months prior to hers. She created a safe space for the fauna that appeared on her land-wild turkeys traveling with chicks, deer with spotted fawns, birds of all kinds from chickadees and humming birds to hawks, young rabbits leaping in play, a skunk family hunkered under the wood shed, raccoons smiling out of the hole in a hollowed tree trunk, the occasional red fox just passing through, and Max. Cris cultivated a environment of natural beauty where the annual cycle of seasons sparked celebrations resplendent with daffodils, iris and lilac in the spring, roses, peonies, wisteria, and grape vines in the summer, scattered golden oak leaves in the fall, and towering pines sprinkled with new fallen snow in the winter.

During her last years, Cris became more vocal about her faith and her spiritual life and was noticeably more at peace. Her quiet and reserved countenance became an inspiration for many of us for whom she was an important sounding board and guide. She was taken from us too soon. We miss you terribly, Cris. We feel your presence every day. We know you were welcomed by the angels and those beloved souls that preceded you to the life everlasting, and we look forward to you welcoming us in the years ahead.

Services will be held on Saturday, November 9, at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Frankfort, Illinois, with a 10 am Fellowship Hour followed by an 11 am Memorial Service. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital at www.stjude.org. Thank you.

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