Thoughts from the editor: Have you ever seen a sinkhole? It is caused when an area of ground shifts and the whole premises sinks as a big crater. I think it is a true statement to say that the loss of Christa has become a sinkhole. It true of her dear family, for sure, and true of the surroundings at work. Her life in this company lasted through half of the current existence of the company. Her presence and input were invaluable and irreplaceable, both on a company and personal level. While memorials normally focus on the life of the individual, and rightly so, there is no question that Christa’s influence in this company will live on in the lives and policies she had shaped.
Event Sales Special Memorial Issue – Reverend Jean Halvorson
Author and Editor
In 1964, two phenomenal things occurred in the U.S.A:
First, the Beatles arrived on U.S. soil,
and second, Christa Marie was born.
Incidentally, both of these would become
famous for uttering the popular phrase:
“YEAH, YEAH, YEAH”, although Christa
meant something different.
It would not seem unusual that this baby would be born on June 1st. After all, at this time of year, summer is right around the corner, and Christa always brought forth such joy and sunshine that you knew things would be better. She was summer’s prelude!
Christa worked in various types of industry: dating service, retail, legal. When she came to us at Event Sales, she began as the softlines supervisor. Her people skills and incredible memory for price points made her an encyclopedia of information, which everyone utilized constantly, Her friendly demeanor made everyone feel comfortable, even customers. Because of her background, she was able to bring a well-rounded frame of reference to this position and it was a great foundation for her next challenge: Director of Retail Sales.
In her role as Director of Retail Sales, she took over that position in December of 1994. As director, she was “beeped” more than the Road Runner, and was a hands-on supervisor. Over the past month and a half, she packed on many frequent flyer miles to Hutchinson, and her assistance was instrumental in its successful grand opening. Christa worked closely in the transitions of the Broadway, Central, Phalen, and Payne stores, and enjoyed a close working relationship with the managers. She was a great liaison between the corporate office and the functioning of the stores, as well as a welcomed favorite any time she was at the warehouse.
Christa wrote all kinds of sayings on the chalkboard behind her desk in the warehouse. She loved a good edifying statement, and believed that success was possible, both on a personal and professional level. She would want us to be guided by good, instructive thoughts. In that spirit, she would want us to think of her with gladness and not with sadness. She never wanted to be reminded of sad things, nor did she want to think about them, so we can accommodate her memory by dwelling on the positive, and in her case, that would be enough to keep us mindful through eternity.
Have you ever played musical calculators? Christa used to. She would switch her calculator with Bob or Doug’s (sshh, don’t tell them!) – once in a while. Her idea of fixing something was to exchange it for a different one.
Colorful Facts about Christa:
Purple was her favorite color. She loved black jelly beans and the Oprah show. Her alternate address was Mall of America. Along with a few of her friends she was a terrific prankster-telephone variety, mostly. She was a valued customer at Byerly’s. I think they considered her an honorary stockholder. She was adopted, and ended up adopting all of us, per se, into her heart.
The Lion Queen – Christa seemed to favor a tigeress attire in her wardrobe: swept up hair; gold-yellow and black colors; black and gold jewelry.
STORIES, STORIES, STORIES…………..
The history of the world was initially presented in oral tradition – stories, if you will. Stories help to fill out the structure of the time line, and reveal the flesh and life of the individual. A few stories come to mind about Christa:
She did it “cold turkey”: Christa did not cook. Her first attempt at roasting a turkey was very memorable. She got directions on how to make a turkey from a friend and followed them perfectly. The family went out, returned home after five hours after having put the bird in the oven, only to find, there was no aroma of roasting turkey. Christa had not turned on the oven because it wasn’t in her directions. This, in fact, was vintage Christa!
Mrs. Wiggins: If you’ve ever watched the old “Carol Burnett Show” and saw Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins, you would gain an appreciation for Christa’s office antics. While she was always professional and people friendly, there was not a typewriter that she could not ignore. Her first job was as a secretary, but she would bring the typing home and have someone else type it. That must be what “bringing your work home with you” means.
Follow the Trail: You could always trace Christa’s steps by what she left as a path: keys, pop cans (never empty – always mostly full), papers, purse, earrings (there was usually an A.P.B. out on her earrings). You could eventually locate her by the trail and by her voice. It carried well into the warehouse.
Reflections of Christa:
The following are random comments made by different persons. Some of these comments come from employees, customers, friends. The first are phrases most commonly used in referring to her:
She was so friendly…. She made you feel so good…. I always looked forward to seeing her…. She was so upbeat…. She was a star, sunshine…. She made me feel important…. She just livened up the place…. You always knew when she was here….
This list could go on and on, and it probably will. There are never enough words to fully define the importance of an individual, and in Christa’s case, the deep feelings cannot be adequately parlayed into words.
One way to define someone’s value in this world is by how much they love others. The second way to evaluate it is by how much they are loved. In Christa, these two did connect and were very embracing.
We had a conversation about her upcoming 31st birthday. She thought she was getting so old. On her 30th birthday last year, we had the obligatory party. Janel, Christa’s friend, put a banner on the outside of the building, and we had a wonderful time celebrating three decades of Christa.
With Christa, you could know her for a long time or even a short time. Either way, she would have a way to graft you into her heart and this made so many feel special, although Christa was really the special one.
Closing thoughts:
When Christa worked in the warehouse as supervisor, I would keep track of her phone numbers, keys, purse, notebooks, and in general, anything that she needed. It was my pleasure to do so, and in the process, have the opportunity to talk to many of her family and friends. A composite picture of her developed in my mind and it is conveyed in small part here. It is with inestimable sadness that this tribute is prepared, but with gratefulness that for a short time, I walked a parallel journey with her. She left lunch dates, reports, functions undone, but she completed the most important: her life was a tremendous source of strength to many people, and her joy spilled over into our lives. That will be a living legacy. This issue will be sent to Christa’s family and close friends, with the express purpose that some day her daughter Chelsey will read this and see how much she meant to all of us. We will laugh and smile when we think of her. We will be sad when we think of her. Mostly, we will remember that we are better people for having met her.