Chris Leigh KING

Chris was ready to go – he told us the morning of his death. He’d fought the good fight, he finished the race, he kept the faith. Chris Leigh King was born 1/24/59 but he was born again on Father’s Day 1983, a date he would want you to remember more than his age. His earthly father abandoned him at the tender age of 5 but his heavenly Father never did. Chris and his 3 siblings were raised by their mom and her parents in Colorado. Chris graduated from high school in Longmont, CO and immediately went into the army and was stationed in Hawaii. He used the GI Bill to attend Colorado State University where he graduated in 1985 with a degree in Computer Science. CSU is where he met the love of his life…Jesus Christ. It was a strange set of circumstances involving a friend from high school, some crazy Christians, and a reprobate girlfriend named Donna. Donna also made Jesus the Lord of her life and they eventually married in 1986 after Chris graduated and accepted a job offer with Boeing in Seattle, WA. Chris and Donna moved to Washington state where Chris worked on the B-2 Stealth Bomber. They had 7 outstanding children together and over 3 decades of amazing memories serving Jesus with other wonderful families in Washington State. Chris ended up working on the F-22 simulator, which he absolutely loved! When the F-22 program moved to St. Louis, Missouri, he moved with it, along with his wife and three youngest children. It was awful to leave everyone behind, but he later said that was one of the best decisions he ever made. In Missouri, he found more incredible friends and renewed spiritual strength and purpose, which helped him through his final days. Chris was diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2018, probably the result of radiation he received nearly 30 years ago to treat Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His heart was also damaged by that radiation, as were his lungs, so he was battling cancer, severe asthma and a bad heart valve all at the same time. Although he was making progress on the cancer, the heart valve and bad lungs finally took his life on December 28, 2018. Chris was first and foremost passionately devoted to God. Never flashy, but working behind the scenes to help those in need, in the name of Jesus. He was passionate about his family. He tried to be the best husband and father he could be, protecting and serving his wife and children, and making every effort to guide them to a right relationship with God. He was passionate about the body of Christ, the church. He served where needed, participated whole-heartedly, and tried to be the best example he could be for others. He was passionate about his work, trying to give his very best despite his string of health issues. He had a great sense of humor that really helped him get through life’s challenges and blessed his family, friends and co-workers. Lastly, he was passionate about sports, with his first love being the Denver Broncos, but he enjoyed many other teams as well. Chris did not want anyone to be sad at his departure because he was looking forward to finally being with Jesus. We will be having a celebration of Chris’ life on February 9th, at 2pm at the Maryland Heights Church of Christ, 107 Midland Ave, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. If you cannot be there, would you please share a memory (or two) about Chris on this website? We’re hoping to gather as many memories as we can, from different perspectives, so our kids will have the largest collection of memories about their dad! Thanks! In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Chris’ name to either: Healing Hands International (www.hhi.org) or CFS (www.stlcfs.org

Chris Leigh KING

January 24, 1959 - December 28, 2018