1968 - 2024

 Chris S. Witwer, CIP (56), aka Chris the Writer, as she loved to be known, shrugged off the confines of her failing body after a long battle with cancer on Dec. 3, 2024. She passed peacefully in her sleep at her home in Rockville, MD, held in the arms of her wife, with her beloved kitty Stella in her lap. She is now free to ride the wind & waves she always loved alongside the beloved whales, dolphins, orcas, & seals she adored photographing at any opportunity. Chris loved the ocean so much, she had a beautiful seahorse tattoo on her arm. A representation of strength, love, & protection, the seahorse is known for guiding travelers through rough waters. May hers guide her to wherever her energy will pass to next. Hopefully, if there is any true karma in the world, it will be a rebirth as one of the playful & free dolphins or orcas she so admired.
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Devastatingly, Chris has left behind her shattered but endlessly grateful wife of 11 years & love of 22 ½ years, or 8193 days & forever, Shiloh Blue (formerly known as L. A. Vess). The long engagement was not by choice, as it took 11 years before they were allowed to marry in Washington state, & two more before their marriage was recognized nationally. Chris was also forced to say goodbye to her two precious fur babies, Stella & Molly, who don't understand where their momma has gone. Chris & her wife were absolutely joyful to be childless cat ladies; but if they had ever had a kid of their own, they hoped it would be someone as brilliant, unique, creative, talented, & empathetic as their pseudo-adopted nibling, Max. Shoutout Max, Chris wished you all the joy you can find in this sometimes harsh world. Keep believing it is out there for you.
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Shi & Chris had one of those once-in-a-lifetime loves, not at first sight, but at first sound. Shi was working as the editor for an LGBTQ+ website. Chris was one of her freelance writers. They met at Atlanta Pride in 2002 for a writer’s weekend gathering. Before Chris ever saw Shi, she heard her, & said many times later her voice “sounded like home.” The first time Chris spoke to Shi, the feeling was deeply returned. Although it took a little prodding from their fellow writer & Cupid Cam for the self-conscious writer to ask out the shy editor, by the end of the weekend, Chris & Shi had fallen hard & were truly soulmates for life. For better, for worse… in sickness & in health… till death. They meant it.
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Chris is also survived by her parents, John & Joyce Witwer, & sister Kathy. She is preceded in death by her sister Cindy, paternal grandparents Lee & Polly Witwer, whom she cherished, & maternal grandmother Ruth Granade. Along the way, she also lost three other beloved fur babies: her childhood kitty Boots, her boon companion Mozart, & her sweet baby Dolce.Although she was born in Illinois, Chris always considered herself a Texan at heart. Her family moved to Dallas when she was young, where she attended Liberty Junior High School & Berkner High School, & published her first writing in the Berkner Literary Magazine. Chris began her college education at Baylor UV but moved on to graduate from the UV of Texas at Austin, which she considered her true alma mater. In many ways, although she would later call Seattle, WA, her second ‘home’ even after she left it to pursue better career opportunities, Austin would always be her first ‘home,’ and the place she really meant when she would talk about where she was from. Keep Austin Weird forever.

From humble beginnings as an answering service telephone operator, Chris rose through pure will & determination into a 20+ year storied career in medical research human subjects protection that spanned across the country coast to coast from the Medical UV of South Carolina to Quorum Review IRB (now Advarra) & the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, WA, to Stanford University in CA, to her final & dream job as a Program Specialist (Policy) in the Office of Human Subjects Research Protections (OHRSP) within the National Institutes for Health. Chris was also proud to serve many years on the CIP Council of PRIM&R before being named co-chair in 2023, an honor she was humbled by & overwhelmingly thrilled to receive. Her awards & accolades in various positions are too many to list here, but Chris was most proud of always working her hardest for both her colleagues & the research participants she was dedicated to supporting & protecting. She could quote the Belmont Report in her sleep.

Chris sincerely appreciated & adored so many of her colleagues over the years, forming close bonds for life with many. She was incredibly grateful to her fellows at the NIH during her last few years for the fantastic support, kindness, & friendship they provided during her cancer battle. Her wife wants to give Heather, Jonathan, & Peg a notable callout for their extraordinary generosity of spirit. Chris also gathered an enormous community of friends & chosen family from all over the world; too many to name. Still, her wife wishes to give special thanks to Barbie, for her boundless love & joy, to Jo, Marianne, & Linda for helping to ensure Chris was cared for in the best possible ways imaginable in her last months, & to Jill, for taking care of her favorite person ever besides her wife & making sure she is happy, fulfilled, & given everything she needs to thrive.

More than just a beloved wife & amazing colleague, Chris was also a beautiful piano player who once imagined competing in the Van Cliburn Competition before a tragic injury at a critical time derailed that dream. Singing was another creative act Chris enjoyed, particularly with the Austin Tapestry Singers, & she was passionate about photography, especially of beautiful landscapes, wild beaches, & magnificent marine life. Chris also loved to travel whenever she could - especially if art museums were involved - or just pick a direction nearby to go adventuring, on foot, by bike - her favorite, in her aqua Jeepy, & later, Penny the Subaru. You could also find her volunteering for causes she believed in whenever she had the chance, including several years with Seattle’s Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SSMMSN), an all-volunteer group dedicated to the protection of marine mammals & stewardship of our fragile marine ecosystem.

Above all things, however, Chris loved to write & never gave up her dream of being a novelist. Her favorite author, Eudora Welty, greatly inspired her, especially the short story "A Worn Path." In addition to penning numerous articles & essays over the years, Chris published two bucket list books in the last year of her life: A Deafening Absence, a collection of short stories, & Rubbings, a travelogue about backpacking through Europe before the advent of cellphones & the Internet. The best way to honor her memory is to read them; they are available through her Amazon author page.  Particularly while enjoying an Old Fashioned if you imbibe, or a nice slice of cake, as she was very fond of both.

As those who knew Chris would likely understand, she wanted no fanfare or fuss at her passing. She was sent back to stardust at a simple cremation with her loving wife as witness, with some of her favorite music, including Elgar's Enigma Variations & her wedding song, Magnolia Street, by Catie Curtis. She only asked that her friends & chosen family share a toast (or some of that cake), & live & love for today, not tomorrow, because - as it is said - those tomorrows are never guaranteed. Such a good, honest, & genuinely kind soul should have had a forever of tomorrows, but instead, can now only hope to be remembered for the incredible human being she was, the devoted & caring wife she was, & the loyal & kind friend she was. She made lasting impacts, great & small, on so many, personally & professionally. She lives on in those beautiful ripples she sent out into the world, making it a more wonderful place for every moment she was in it, & for long after she is gone.

Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to SealSitters.org or HappyWhale.com. Condolences, lovely or funny stories about Chris, or just random cute cat photos for her grieving wife can be sent to ChrisWitwerMemories@gmail.com.