This memorial website was created to remember and celebrate the life of Chris Danner. We are all so very proud of Chris and want to share the joy of his life and his message with everyone. Please take time to look at Chris's memorial site and to remember him with us. It means so much to us that you are here remembering Chris with us, so please, light a candle in his memory or leave a tribute so that we know that Chris is remembered and continues to touch the lives of many.
Chris was born on September 11th, 1988, and passed away in an automobile accident December 19th, 2006. Chris was a high school senior at the time of his accident. Chris was handsome, slender built, approximately 132 lbs and 5'7'', maybe a bit taller. He had green eyes, brown hair, freckles, really hairy legs and a beautiful smile. He liked to smell nice and usually wore cologne, Echo was one of his favorites, but he also wore Aqua Di Gio by Armani, Kirra, and Hugo Boss.
Chris was kind, sweet, genuine and gentle. He accepted everyone for who they were, and rarely, if ever said any unkind words to or about anyone. He loved life, loved to say things to make others happy and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life that many of us fail to take the time to appreciate. Chris was a little shy, but enjoyed meeting and getting to know new people. He found something good in everyone he met. He was witty and fun to be around and no one that I have spoken with can think of anyone that did not like him. Chris enjoyed spending time with his family He was very sentimental and sometimes yearned for the big family gatherings that he remembered from his earlier years. Chris looked forward to meeting the woman who would be his wife and looked forward to starting a family of his own but was committed to educating himself and getting a good job so that he could provide for his family in the way that he wanted. When Chris thought about careers, he considered how much time he would have to be away from his family. He had recently said that he wanted a career that would allow him to be home before dinner every night and allow him to spend evenings, weekends and holidays with his family. He would have been a wonderful husband and father.
Chris enjoyed the outdoors and loved to just lay in the sun on a beautiful day. He recently made a bike trail with ramps behind the house and still rode the bike that he got for his 10th birthday. He enjoyed hanging out with his friends and family, playing with the dogs, playing online computer games, music, and paintball.
Below is what Chris wrote about himself (cut an pasted here) on his myspace page:
About me:
I LIKE: -Thunderstorms -Friendship -Erka Derka -Walks -Sunsets -Mountains -Creativity -Doodling -Good Company -Meeting New People -Morning Fog -iPod -Freedom -My Bed -Long Showers -Feeling Wanted -Being Able To Help -Making Someone Smile :)
I DISLIKE: -Someone Crying -Bills -Being Alone -Porkchops -Being Sick -Macho People -Splinters -Spider Crickets -Feeling Guilty -Making Someone Sad
Who I'd like to meet:
True Love, Good Company, Bob Marley, John Goodman, Jimi Hendrix, and Eric Clapton.
Photo taken by Chris, fall 2006.
They that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. Death cannot kill what never dies. -William Penn-
More about Chris from his Family: Chris was athletic; he was not extremely gifted at any particular sport but, a good all around athlete. His movements were always smooth and graceful; he never looked unbalanced or awkward in anything he did. Roller blades, ski’s, and bike were all just like an extension of his body; he could jump and do tricks on them. He liked to bowl and play soccer he had taken karate until recently. He had played baseball, often as the pitcher when he was younger. Just this fall, when football season began we were all our in the yard playing catch with a football, he could throw a beautiful spiral with such accuracy. It was a beautiful sunny day and when I look out in the yard I can still picture him standing there.
Chris kept his room and his things clean, neat an organized. He did his own laundry and vacuumed and dusted his room regularly. Everything had a place and everything was in his place. The clothes in his closet were neatly organized, and hung by article type. Nothing was overcrowded, he only kept things in his room that he used, the rest of his stuff he boxed up and kept in storage. He was very pleased to have a laptop computer and a desktop computer with a large flat screen. He often played online video games on his laptop while watching movies on his large screen monitor. He had many posters neatly hung on the walls in his room, his posters included: Rocky, Bob Marley, Halo, Fear, No One Lives Forever 2, The Big Lebowski, Jimi Hendrix, Warcraft III, Murphy’s Law, Dead or Alive 4, Mind Warp, Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, New World Order (paintball), Superman, Spiderman, The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, Unreal Championship, Detroit Strange (paintball) and others. Pictures of his room, the way he left it, can be seen in his photo album on this site.
Like most teens, Chris really enjoyed music. He had an ipod that he took almost everywhere with him. It was usually in the front pocket of his jeans or in his coat pocket. He had an adapter so that he could plug it into the tape player in his truck. He had accidentally left it at home the morning of the accident; his brother recalls him feeling for it in his pockets. Chris had a diverse appreciation for music, he listened to: rock, classic rock, pop, country, contemporary, hip hop and classical, but seemed to like classic rock and southern rock from the seventies and early eighties best. We often joked with him that he was born a generation too late. He was not a wonderful singer, but he sang anyway, his friends recently recalled him “belting out a Frank Sinatra song.” Recent favorite songs of Chris’s included Speeding Cars by Imogen Heap and New Slang by the Shins. New Slang was the song that he had chosen for the background music on his myspace webpage.
Chris appreciated food and could usually be bribed to do an afternoon’s work with the promise of a fast food meal. It seemed as though he was almost always “starving,” but he usually did not actually eat that much. He had weighed 140 lbs or so in October and thought that he lost some of his jaw definition so quickly dropped the weight. In November he told me that he had “discovered the secret to weight loss, just stop eating when you are full.”
His favorite fast food restaurants were Taco Bell, McDonalds and Subway (he almost always got a meatball sub). Chris liked to eat out, other favorite restaurants of his included Outback Steakhouse (Coconut Shrimp, Victoria’s Crowned Filet with blue cheese, Cyclone Pasta and Ribs) Rocky Run, and a neighborhood seafood restaurant, Anne Arundel Seafood (Chesapeake Bay Crabs and other steamed seafood). As for ethnic foods, Chris probably liked Mexican best, but the also liked Chinese ( Bar-B-Q spare ribs, egg rolls, General Tso’s Chicken, house fried rice and house egg foo young) and Italian.
Chris liked tea, he liked Raspberry Snapple, Republic of Tea Persimmon White Tea sweetened with honey (he has one of these tea bags hanging on the wall in his room at the height of his nose), Kombucha Wonder Drink orient blend and Lipton’s instant sweetened powdered ice tea mix. He pretty much liked all soda but was particularly fond of Jones Cream Soda, birch beer, Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. He also liked to chew on Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Australian Chewing Sticks.
Chris really appreciated a good tender cut of steak cooked medium with A1 steak sauce and also liked homemade lasagna, homemade soft shell tacos/burritos, frozen burritos and other frozen Mexican snacks, chicken nuggets, thin crust pineapple pizza, things topped with blue cheese, canned Chef Boyardee, Manwhich, Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Breyer’s ice cream, sweet rice (made with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, milk and cinnamon), and cheese cake. He did not have a particularly healthy diet and sometimes it was rough on his digestive system, but he knew what he liked and was willing to put up with whatever digestive problems it caused him. He frequently chewed Tums (he liked the soft Tums) and kept an economy sized container of Famotidine out on his nightstand.
Chris had two part-time jobs and was very proud of both. He had started working in September at Baltimore Rh Typing Lab as a Quality Control Technician, and performed monthly maintence and cleaning of some of their equipment. He had been to many hospitals in the Baltimore/ Washington area to service equipment and felt important in his ID and lab coat. He had completed the MedStar vendor ID process (background check, drug screening, laboratory testing and vaccinations) for access to their hospitals and had been granted a Med-Star badge. He was anxious to pick it up and planned to do so over the Christmas holiday. Chris had also recently started working at Best Buy in the media department. He was hired as a seasonal employee but was anxious to prove his value as he wanted to continue to work at Best Buy. He was very excited about this job, he was enthusiastic, was interested in learning about their sales strategy and the history of the company. When he came home he was always anxious to tell us about all the new things he had learned. He was making new friends and enjoying talking to customers, he said it was like getting paid to “be friendly and talk to people.” He had discovered that there was more to gain from work than just a pay check that work that could be fulfilling; he felt valued, important, was learning new things and making new friends.
Photo taken by Chris, August 2006, Lake Chapalla Mexico.
"There are no goodbyes for us. Wherever you are, you will always be in my heart." -Mahatma Ghandi-
Chris,
I can’t figure out why I must live and how I am supposed to live without you I had you here with me for 18 wonderful years I was so excited when I brought you home from the hospital and was so excited to see you each and every day I loved and nurtured you; you were my life’s work I would have given my life for you a million times or more We shared so many wonderful times, we played, we danced and we just loved each other You always wondered why I looked at you like I did, but I was in awe at just how wonderful you were You were my hopes and dreams and the future I am so very lost without you
Please, if you any photos or videos of Chris, I would like to have copies of them if possible. You can upload them here on the site or email them to me. I can be emailed by using the link in the top right hand corner of this page. I love to see picutres and hear stories about Chris that are new to me!
Tributes and Condolences
Remembering when we danced......... / Mom
Chris, As I lay in bed each night I close my eyes and remember the feeling of holding you and the feeling of both of your hands in my hands as we danced........I talked you into taking those ballroom dancing classes with me, and you agreed altho...
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Fond memories... / Kara (Aunt)
I remember one summer day you and William were outside playing Mancala on the deck. You both had to be around 9 or 10 years old - so innocent and playful. I came outside to talk and see who was winning. I believe it was William since he was always ...
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What a wonderful son! / Sandy Nyenhuis Jacob's Mom (Stopping by to say hello )
Your hearts must ache to have Christopher (Chris) back in your arms again. What a handsome and wonderful young man he is. To read about Chris is like reading about my own son. They sound so similar (except for the part about ke...
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Thinking about you... / Stephen Danner (Father)
May 29, 2007
Christopher, my wonderful son, I want you to know that I think of you constantly.
William and I drove up to the site of your accident this Memorial Day weekend, and I feel so devastated. I do no...
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Thinking of you / Carole Mom To Angel Heather Bates (connected by angels )
Chris, I'll Be Looking for You Tonight / Chris's Mom Read >>
Christopher Danner Memorial Bench A donation has been made to City High Campus Improvement Committee (Iowa City) to erect a bench and memorial plaque in Chris’s name. The memorial bench will be part of a larger project to improve the front entrance to City High. The project is expected to be underway late in 2007 or 2008.
This memorial website was created to remember and celebrate the life of Chris Danner. We are all so very proud of Chris and want to share the joy of his life and his message with everyone. Please take time to look at Chris's memorial site and to remember him with us. It means so much to us that you are here remembering Chris with us, so please, light a candle in his memory or leave a tribute so that we know that Chris is remembered and continues to touch the lives of many. 
Chris was born on September 11th, 1988, and passed away in an automobile accident December 19th, 2006. Chris was a high school senior at the time of his accident. Chris was handsome, slender built, approximately 132 lbs and 5'7'', maybe a bit taller. He had green eyes, brown hair, freckles, really hairy legs and a beautiful smile. He liked to smell nice and usually wore cologne, Echo was one of his favorites, but he also wore Aqua Di Gio by Armani, Kirra, and Hugo Boss. 
Chris was kind, sweet, genuine and gentle. He accepted everyone for who they were, and rarely, if ever said any unkind words to or about anyone. He loved life, loved to say things to make others happy and enjoyed the simple pleasures of life that many of us fail to take the time to appreciate. Chris was a little shy, but enjoyed meeting and getting to know new people. He found something good in everyone he met. He was witty and fun to be around and no one that I have spoken with can think of anyone that did not like him. 
Chris enjoyed spending time with his family He was very sentimental and sometimes yearned for the big family gatherings that he remembered from his earlier years. Chris looked forward to meeting the woman who would be his wife and looked forward to starting a family of his own but was committed to educating himself and getting a good job so that he could provide for his family in the way that he wanted. When Chris thought about careers, he considered how much time he would have to be away from his family. He had recently said that he wanted a career that would allow him to be home before dinner every night and allow him to spend evenings, weekends and holidays with his family. He would have been a wonderful husband and father. 
Chris enjoyed the outdoors and loved to just lay in the sun on a beautiful day. He recently made a bike trail with ramps behind the house and still rode the bike that he got for his 10th birthday. He enjoyed hanging out with his friends and family, playing with the dogs, playing online computer games, music, and paintball.
Chris kept his room and his things clean, neat an organized. He did his own laundry and vacuumed and dusted his room regularly. Everything had a place and everything was in his place. The clothes in his closet were neatly organized, and hung by article type. Nothing was overcrowded, he only kept things in his room that he used, the rest of his stuff he boxed up and kept in storage. He was very pleased to have a laptop computer and a desktop computer with a large flat screen. He often played online video games on his laptop while watching movies on his large screen monitor. He had many posters neatly hung on the walls in his room, his posters included: Rocky, Bob Marley, Halo, Fear, No One Lives Forever 2, The Big Lebowski, Jimi Hendrix, Warcraft III, Murphy’s Law, Dead or Alive 4, Mind Warp, Grand Theft Auto, Duke Nukem, New World Order (paintball), Superman, Spiderman, The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, Unreal Championship, Detroit Strange (paintball) and others. Pictures of his room, the way he left it, can be seen in his photo album on this site.
Like most teens, Chris really enjoyed music. He had an ipod that he took almost everywhere with him. It was usually in the front pocket of his jeans or in his coat pocket. He had an adapter so that he could plug it into the tape player in his truck. He had accidentally left it at home the morning of the accident; his brother recalls him feeling for it in his pockets. Chris had a diverse appreciation for music, he listened to: rock, classic rock, pop, country, contemporary, hip hop and classical, but seemed to like classic rock and southern rock from the seventies and early eighties best. We often joked with him that he was born a generation too late. He was not a wonderful singer, but he sang anyway, his friends recently recalled him “belting out a Frank Sinatra song.” Recent favorite songs of Chris’s included Speeding Cars by Imogen Heap and New Slang by the Shins. New Slang was the song that he had chosen for the background music on his myspace webpage. 
Chris appreciated food and could usually be bribed to do an afternoon’s work with the promise of a fast food meal. It seemed as though he was almost always “starving,” but he usually did not actually eat that much. He had weighed 140 lbs or so in October and thought that he lost some of his jaw definition so quickly dropped the weight. In November he told me that he had “discovered the secret to weight loss, just stop eating when you are full.” 
His favorite fast food restaurants were Taco Bell, McDonalds and Subway (he almost always got a meatball sub). Chris liked to eat out, other favorite restaurants of his included Outback Steakhouse (Coconut Shrimp, Victoria’s Crowned Filet with blue cheese, Cyclone Pasta and Ribs) Rocky Run, and a neighborhood seafood restaurant, Anne Arundel Seafood (Chesapeake Bay Crabs and other steamed seafood). As for ethnic foods, Chris probably liked Mexican best, but the also liked Chinese ( Bar-B-Q spare ribs, egg rolls, General Tso’s Chicken, house fried rice and house egg foo young) and Italian. 
Chris liked tea, he liked Raspberry Snapple, Republic of Tea Persimmon White Tea sweetened with honey (he has one of these tea bags hanging on the wall in his room at the height of his nose), Kombucha Wonder Drink orient blend and Lipton’s instant sweetened powdered ice tea mix. He pretty much liked all soda but was particularly fond of Jones Cream Soda, birch beer, Mountain Dew Baja Blast and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke. He also liked to chew on Thursday Plantation Tea Tree Australian Chewing Sticks. 
Chris really appreciated a good tender cut of steak cooked medium with A1 steak sauce and also liked homemade lasagna, homemade soft shell tacos/burritos, frozen burritos and other frozen Mexican snacks, chicken nuggets, thin crust pineapple pizza, things topped with blue cheese, canned Chef Boyardee, Manwhich, Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Breyer’s ice cream, sweet rice (made with sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, milk and cinnamon), and cheese cake. He did not have a particularly healthy diet and sometimes it was rough on his digestive system, but he knew what he liked and was willing to put up with whatever digestive problems it caused him. He frequently chewed Tums (he liked the soft Tums) and kept an economy sized container of Famotidine out on his nightstand. 
Chris had two part-time jobs and was very proud of both. He had started working in September at Baltimore Rh Typing Lab as a Quality Control Technician, and performed monthly maintence and cleaning of some of their equipment. He had been to many hospitals in the Baltimore/ Washington area to service equipment and felt important in his ID and lab coat. He had completed the MedStar vendor ID process (background check, drug screening, laboratory testing and vaccinations) for access to their hospitals and had been granted a Med-Star badge. He was anxious to pick it up and planned to do so over the Christmas holiday. Chris had also recently started working at Best Buy in the media department. He was hired as a seasonal employee but was anxious to prove his value as he wanted to continue to work at Best Buy. He was very excited about this job, he was enthusiastic, was interested in learning about their sales strategy and the history of the company. When he came home he was always anxious to tell us about all the new things he had learned. He was making new friends and enjoying talking to customers, he said it was like getting paid to “be friendly and talk to people.” He had discovered that there was more to gain from work than just a pay check that work that could be fulfilling; he felt valued, important, was learning new things and making new friends. 
Links to Slide Shows/ Photos 
Tributes and Condolences