Christopher Chamberlin

Christopher James Chamberlin, age 38, of Las Cruces, died on Monday May 14th, 2012 after a brief illness. Chris was born in Huelva, Spain on October 25th, 1973 to Jim and Avonna Chamberlin, and grew up traveling and living in Spain, Venezuela and Miami. He attended the Kildonan School in Amenia, NY, Proctor Academy in Andover, NH, and Bethany College in Bethany, WV. During College he returned to Spain for one semester abroad. While at Bethany, Chris became a brother in the Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity. He also lived in Cleveland, OH, and had many good friends in Athens, GA. Chris had an insatiable curiosity about history, technology, culture, politics, and people. He was an avid gamer, and had many friends in the online gaming communities. He was a skilled craftsman, and loved to figure out how things worked, & built sets and ran lights and sound backstage in several theatre companies, and crewed on several independent films. In 2004, he moved to Las Cruces, and quickly fell in love with southern NM. He worked for NMSU as Media Coordinator, and was a familiar and helpful fixture at Corbett Center. Chris was a gentle, sensitive person, but he always had a sharp eye and tongue for things that deserved mockery. In the year before his death, he bought his first house, and worked hard almost single-handedly to get it the way he wanted it. He is survived by his sister, Ali Lassey, of Athens, OH, and his brother, Carloss Chamberlin of Salt Lake City, UT, as well as his Aunts and Uncles: Carolyn and Al Alkire, and Rene and Denny Tiede, and his nieces, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Rebecca and his cousins, Dirk and Kurt Tiede, Lorrie Brooks, and Lance Alkire. Also by his good friends Patrick Nelson, Sharna Horn, Rebecca Jacquess, Cosette Atherton, Dulcinea Lara, Shawn Brown, Curtis Wadsworth, Robert Barker, Jennifer Lohr-Lukaszyk, and his colleagues Christina Chavez-Kelly, Charlotte Field, Daryl Grazia, and Dave Brockmeyer.?? He was preceded in death by his Parents, Jim and Avonna Chamberlin. Instead of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society or CancerCare.org. There will be an informal memorial gathering in Las Cruces in the Colfax Room at the Corbett Center, NMSU, at 4 PM on Wednesday, May 30th, and a wake near Bethany College in the fall.