Christopher James Zordell died on March 14, 2001, in Iowa City, Iowa. He was born on November 11, 1952, in Huntington, Indiana, the second son of Jack and Jean Zordell. His family moved to Davenport when he was in junior high. He graduated from West High in 1971, where he lettered in swimming and track. He also attended St. Ambrose College for one year. In the early 70s, he completed an Outward Bound course in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He loved being in the mountains, and decided to make his home in Brighton, 60 miles east of the Rockies, where his only extended family lived.

Chris Zordell and Pam Kress (West '71) were married June 12, 1977, in Davenport. They made their home in Brighton, where they had a daughter and son. They divorced in 1984, and Chris moved back to Iowa to be near his parents.  He later married, and divorced, a second time.

Chris was living with his aunt and uncle in Iowa City when he died of complications of alcoholism. He was cremated and his ashes interred at CedarVale Cemetery in Hot Springs Village, AK, where his parents had moved in retirement. He is survived by his daughter, Allison Zordell; his son, Daniel Zordell; his parents, Jack and Jean Zordell; his older brother, John Zordell and his wife and two children; his younger brother, David, and his wife and two sons; his younger sister, Catherine, and her husband and two children; his aunt and uncle, Kay and Bill Winkel; and his cousins Jennifer, Andrea, and Lisa Winkel. Carrying on his name are Jane and Vera Zordell, the granddaughters he did not live to meet.

Pam Kress & Chris Zordell, June 12, 1977 (Photo credit: Pam Kress-Dunn)

Chris and Allison  Zordell, c. 1981. (Photo credit: Pam Kress Dunn)