Christopher Black

Christopher Allin Black, age 64, passed away suddenly at his home in North Bend, Washington on Sunday, January 5th, 2025. Born in Rapid City, South Dakota, on March 10,1960, Chris grew up in Huron, SD and graduated from Huron High School in 1978. He attended the University of South Dakota in Vermillion before embarking on a successful, lifelong technical career in Nondestructive Testing, attaining the highest levels of proficiency in his field.

He began his career in Iowa at Quad City Testing, inspecting welds and learning the ropes from his brother Stephen, then worked in the oil and gas industry in Houston before settling down in the Seattle region as a Level III inspector for Boeing. His list of accomplishments include receiving the 1998 Boeing Commercial Division award for Fabrication Inspector of the Year. In 2013, the American Society of Nondestructive Testing honored Chris as Mentor of the Year and again in 2015 with their highest honor as Technician of the Year. Boeing also honored him in 2015 with their Meritorious Invention award which led to his subsequent patent in 2017 for conceiving and designing a device to detect lost tools inside an aircraft. (Patent no: 9,772,422 B2).

He also shared his specialized knowledge by teaching the next generation at Clover Park Technical College from 2012-2019, where he was the recipient of their award for Outstanding Mentoring Skills. As a Union representative and member of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Chris retired from Boeing in 2023 after 36 years and 7 months. He continued to work part time as an independent contractor with his own firm, CBI NDT Consulting.

When he wasn't working, he was fishing. A passion since childhood, Chris was a walking encyclopedia when it came to cutthroat, steelhead and rainbow trout. He knew everything about the salmon spawning cycle and, of course, tied his own flies, so whether lake or stream fishing, Chris was content when he had a fishing pole in his hand. He also loved to ski and was known to confidently lead family and friends down double black diamond runs. And when he wasn't out enjoying the great outdoors, he was working on his property, recently completing DIY projects as he prepared to leave his river front home in North Bend and move back to his roots in the Black Hills.

Chris had a dry sense of humor that could ignite a room full of belly laughs. His lifelong friends were like family to him. He recently hosted his 45th high school class reunion at his retirement property on Rapid Creek. He enjoyed sharing stories and photos of the months he lived in a hotel in Naples, Italy or the times he visited the Rolls Royce jet engine factory in England or riding along as test pilots took off on a virgin flight. He even briefly appeared in a Discovery Channel documentary while working in Australia as he traveled the world for Boeing. Down to earth and practical, he had a knack for remembering names, dates and phone numbers, but to his family, he was Uncle Chris, gifting model airplanes to his grand nieces and nephews or teaching the basics of casting a fishing line.

A lifelong bachelor, he was preceded in death by his parents, Robert Black and Jacqueline Black, his brother Tony and sister-in-law Mindy, and his grandparents, Charles & Val Black and Fred & Gladys Brown, all of Rapid City. He is survived by his brother, Stephen and sister-in-law Cindy, his sister, Leann Mueller, his nieces and nephews, Stephanie DeBoever, Bryon Black, Kathryn Johnson, Eric Mueller, Jonathan Black and Jessica Klein, his Aunt Judi Helmer, cousins Terri Helmer-Aaris and Greg Helmer and 15 grand nieces and nephews.

As we mourn the untimely loss of our dear family member, co-worker and friend, "Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, Rest In Peace."

Chris' remains will be cremated with a private event for family and friends to follow in the Black Hills this summer.