Chris Shafer

When Amy first told us about Chris, 20 plus years ago, I was not familiar with his background.  Amy told me on the phone about Chris and that his heritage was Samoan, in my brain, I heard Sumo and thought how did Amy met a Sumo wrestler with a topknot!  As we got to know Chris and accept him as part of our family, we treasure his smile, sense of humor, and sharing in the lives of our family, both good times and some difficult ones.  Chris will always be a part of our family, we will talk about him often and share the warm memories he has with us. 

Chris was so good with children, he related to them on their level and kids understood that.  He had a compassionate heart with all of  the West family.  We shall miss him, but will share our memories together.  I always loved the "dress up" pictures of him and Amy at various parties over the years, we love him and will miss him. 

Chris was one of the most genuine people I have ever met. A straight-shooter with a compassionate heart. I knew Chris is "two lives" - as a Devereux co-worker and then, years later, as a social friend.  As a co-worker, he was reliable, helpful, insightful and patient. We worked with adult clients together and he taught me so much about how to truly connect with the clients while still maintaining a healthy, structured relationship. He always had a smile on his face, even when tensions were high (which was often in those days). We had one client (who shall remain nameless) who was not the easiest client to work. The client had a very comical way of talking and gesturing which resulted in a lot of the other staff members and clients teasing this client. Chris always made the client feel included and cared about. Such a big heart.

I feel so fortunate to have reconnected with Chris through Amy a few years after I had left Devereux - I don't think that I realized how much I enjoyed him until we reconnected!  He was always creative and resourceful - his life adventures, concert trips, and career changes were so fun to hear about!  He was always ready to tell a wild story or relive a fond, shared memory.  I was ALWAYS laughing when Chris was around.  But there was inevitably one or two times each night we would hang out that I would have a little cry with him because we would be having a real heart-to-heart about something and then he would strike it right on the head - whatever the "problem" was - and that would always hit me in a vulnerable place... he was just SO insightful.

I will miss Chris the most at Halloween and will always have fond memories of our last Halloween together - I was some sort of weirdo pregnant goddess and he was just there, dressed in black, making me laugh.  I'll miss him. I know that we all will.