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  Photos of Chris |
Christopher Andrew StarzJuly 20, 1983—March 26, 2006In memory of Chris, the Starz family has established the Christopher Starz Leadership Memorial Fund as part of the Camp Nicolet Foundation. These funds will be used to continue Chris' dream of providing youth from all walks of life the opportunity to grow and develop through outdoor challenge and adventure programs.Contributions to Chris' memorial are tax-deductable and can be addressed to: The Christopher Starz Leadership Memorial Camp Nicolet Foundation P.O. Box 1359 Eagle River, WI 54521 You can also email us at foundation@campnicolet.com or visit  to make a donation via online shopping. |
Some spirits are not meant to grow old. I will remain eternally youthful.Chris was born on July 20, 1983 in Woodruff, Wisconsin and attended the Eagle River Grade and Middle Schools. He was a 2001 graduate of Wayland Academy in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and received his BA Degree with Dean's List Honors in English from Colby College, Waterville, Maine in May of 2005. He also studied Native American Literature for two semesters at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO.At an early age Chris was involved with his family's sport of sled dog racing and won numerous Junior State Championships, as well as the Klondike Days World Oval Championships. At age nine he was featured on the children's television program Get Real. His hobbies included playing lead guitar and vocal in his college band "Ditka and the Hurricanes," freestyle and powder skiing, mountain biking, rock and ice climbing, photography, wilderness camping and creative writing. Chris lived and worked as a ski technician in Park City, Utah the winter of ‘06. He held his Avalanche 1, Wilderness First Responder, and Advanced Open Water scuba certifications and revered his time spent in the mountains and on the water.  "I have learned through my wilderness opportunities that there are many
other experiences and personal accomplishments that should be recognized after
an adventure has ended. It is important to remember and utilize those skills
throughout life. I feel that under proper leadership, skills learned in the
wilderness can far outweigh any of those learned in a classroom setting. It is
my goal to impart the appropriate knowledge and leadership necessary to provide
kids with this type of invaluable experience." Chris Starz 2005 One of the Mad OnesColby magazine, Summer 2006In my 23 years, I’ve been lucky enough to know some incredible people, both at Colby and elsewhere, people whose lives inspired me to make mine more meaningful. In On the Road, Jack Kerouac writes, "The only people for me are the mad ones… who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars…" When I first read On the Road I was living with Chris Starz ’05 and a few other ambling souls in a cheap apartment in Durango, Colorado. I was out there for a Jan Plan, doing a dubious internship in the restaurant business while climbing and skiing as much as possible. Chris was spending the spring semester away from Colby, enrolled at Fort Lewis College to pursue his interest in Native American Literature. Raised on his family’s summer camp in the woods of Wisconsin, Chris was the child of the forest that I, a suburban kid from Connecticut, had always wanted to be. We spent that month together, with Chris’s high school roommate and best friend, Dan, exploring the canyons and hills. Over that month, I came to better understand the complex character of my quiet friend. Newly arrived at Colby, I sat in Lorimer Chapel and listened to President Bro Adams recite the impressive accomplishments of my new classmates. One had written speeches for a U.S. senator, others were valedictorians, and one had won a sled dog race. A few months later I found out the dogsledder was my friend Chris.  Over the next four years I watched my friend grow and achieve. Chris
would turn out to also be an incredible skier (he won a freestyle
competition in Park City, Utah, shortly before he died), a self-taught,
virtuoso guitar player, a professional wakeboarding competitor, and
a loyal friend. Chris was the kind of person who wasn't’t just good at everything he did, he was amazing. He would score highlight-reel intramural soccer goals, learn songs on the guitar by ear after hearing them once, do back flips on skis and a wakeboard, write A-plus papers in a single sitting, cook elaborate feasts, and score breathtaking touchdowns in pickup football games. For all his musical and athletic feats, Chris never liked to talk about himself or what he had done. His modesty was confounding at times and always admirable. In March, a few days after the car crash on I-80 in Wyoming that took Chris’s life, his family and a few of his friends gathered for a brief memorial in Rawlins, Wyoming. We recounted memories of Chris and recalled what he’s meant to us as a friend, son, or brother. The recurring theme was Chris’ almost maniacal enthusiasm for life. He lived every moment as if it would be the basis for his soul’s eternal judgment, though the only person he was ever out to impress was himself. At the service and the ensuing dinner and party in his honor, we all agreed that the best way to honor Chris would be to try and live the way he did. Rather than talking about a goal, we would pursue and achieve it with unflagging perseverance, wild enthusiasm, and devastating style. The only people for me are the mad ones — and Chris was as mad as they come. Andy Orr, Colby ‘05 West Hartford, Connecticut "I’m feeling high, high on life. Just about as high as those Northern Lights. We’re living fast man, and we’re dying young. If we’re gonna get through this world We gotta have a little fun." We’re Big in Europe lyrics by Chris Starz 2005 |
