Christopher Gale Rader

Christopher "Chris" Gale Rader of Colville, WA, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on July 27, 2025, in Colville, WA. Chris was born in Spokane, WA on November 15, 1972, and was adopted by his amazing parents Gary and Janna (Depew) Rader one week after birth. Chris attended school in Colville and graduated as a 12-year Senior from Colville High School in 1991. During school and summers, Chris played football and baseball which began his love of sports and baseball cards. Chris received his first baseball card at the young age of 4. This was the start of his lifetime of collecting, which included careful handling, packaging, placing each card in clear protective covers and documenting their stats and history. Chris lost count of the amount of baseball cards he owns, but anyone can guess it is probably over half a million. Chris was often referred to as a "walking sports illustrated". After high school, Chris attended WSU in Pullman, WA from 1991 – 1994 before he returned to Colville. Chris began working at Arby's in Colville in 1994, where he met Colleen Jones. Little did they know she would become his wife in August 1999. The two of them worked together for 2 years before he took a position at Safeway in 1996, where he worked for 24 years. During his employment with Safeway, Chris started taking photos of sports in the Tri-County area. In 2020, he left Safeway for a position at the Stevens County Courthouse, along with freelance writing sports for the Statesman Examiner. Chris then made the decision in 2022 to leave the courthouse and began employment at The Statesman Examiner where he was a writer/reporter/photographer. In August 2000, Chris and Colleen welcomed their first daughter, Emily Ruthann into the world. In June 2002, they welcomed their second daughter, Jay Gale Rader, into the world and in March 2007, they welcomed their son Noah Christopher, who completed their family. Chris was an amazing dad who attended every sports game, even coaching some of the games. Chris attended his kids' school programs, practiced catching baseballs or softballs, kicking soccer balls around or throwing the football around. When he wasn't attending his kids' own games, you could find him attending Spokane Indians games, Mariners games, traveling to local high school sports games, rodeos, parades, local events or loving life out taking pictures of nature. Chris managed to catch action shots at the right time, providing numerous friends and families with memories to last a lifetime. Chris not only enjoyed sports, but he also had a love for the ocean. From the time his first daughter was born, they took trips to the Washington/Oregon Coast, visited family and camped at the ocean. This was a yearly tradition until his kids became older, and school and sports got in the way. Chris was a simple man. He loved his wife, his kids, his family, sports, nature, wildlife, shots of the moon, sitting on the porch swing during rainstorms, thunder and lightning storms, capturing the eclipse, northern lights and stars. Chris was a quiet man, but if you ran into him, he always had a smile, a "hey" or "hello" for anyone who knew him. Chris will be greatly missed by his entire family, friends and community. Chris is preceded in death by his parents, Gary and Janna Rader, his maternal and paternal grandparents, two uncles, Jon Depew and Donald Rader and Cousin Sandi Rader. Chris is survived by his wife of 26 years, Colleen at home, his two daughters Emily Rader and Jay Rader and Son Noah Rader. One sister, Kim Moorhead (Brad) of Colville, three nieces, Madison and Megan Moorhead and Avery Jones. One Aunt, Rosemarie Rader, one Uncle, Harvey Depew and Brother-in-law Josh Jones (Aaron). Chris is also survived by cousins Jonna, Bryan, Tana, Sydni, Ryan, Jenny and Eva as well as a long list of lifelong friends and a community who loved him. There will be a graveside memorial service on Wednesday August 6, 2025, at 11am at Mountain View Cemetery. After the service, there will be a private family gathering for his wife, kids and family.