Christopher Hussey Stolz

Succumbed on 3.14, aka pi day, to a cerebral hemorrhage from an enormous arteriovenous malformation diagnosed when he was just 8, his approximate age in this photo. Aware of this virtual death sentence, he spent his borrowed time bravely & boldly, sometimes foolishly, but always with panache & irrepressible intellect, humor & good will. Christopher was the only son of Norman & Shirley Stolz, the older brother of Susan Goldie (all of Lexington & North Falmouth, MA) and Jennifer (Portland, OR) & Sarah Stolz (Seattle, WA) and uncled many niblings. He married Elizabeth Zaitsev. His personality and plight attracted the especial solicitude of his grandparents Converse & Audrey Hill. He lived to be 65. In spite of suffering a first hemorrhage in 11th grade, Christopher graduated with his 1968 Lexington High School class and the Franklin & Marshall College Class of 72 with degrees in Religious Studies & Computer Science. His career as a programmer included employment at Raytheon, Digital Equipment Corporation and the Eye Research Institute. Later, he ran a consulting company, Christopher Computer, out of his Beacon Hill apartment, created a fractal graphics program, whamdoozle, and took a devoted dedicated passionate interest in blocking email spam. He had a remarkable rapport with animals from an early age. His mice, Linda, Belinda & Melinda, took Best-in-Show at an Animal Rescue League of Boston pet show for their poise as they beheld the hordes of competitors (and predators) from their perch in Christophers breast pocket. His clowder of cats attended him with dog-like devotion and would roll over and offer their paws to shake at his command. He also had a natural grasp of wind, tide and tiller: he and his crew were National Junior Champions in the Cape Cod Knockabout class. After a further devastating stroke in 2007, he spent his last years at Golden Living West Newton where he was blessed with the skilled assistance, appreciation and kindness of extraordinary care-givers (with whom he chose to converse in their native French.) He was a Quaker or, as he proclaimed to the end, un homme de paix. Funeral private. Anyone so moved may direct memorial donations to the American Friends Service Committee, at www.afsc.org. It would equally honor Christopher to commit a random act of kindness, friendliness or humor.