Christopher Mark Redhead

OCTOBER 5, 1962 – AUGUST 20, 2022

Reflections On A Special Life

Christopher Mark Redhead was born in Portland OR in the Fall of 1962. He spent his childhood

and teen years in Medford, and then Jacksonville OR, with his parents, a brother Tim, and sister

Tina. As a child, he had an uncanny interest in clowns, the circus, and trains. He loved and

spent lots of time on a wooden white cow with wheels, and a brown rocking horse that his uncle

Bo hand made for the kids. That theme of furry animals continued throughout his adult years,

and he developed a special affinity for dogs, all breeds and sizes, for whom he always kept a

fresh box of Milk Bones in a cupboard at the house. Every neighborhood dog knew which porch

they could step foot on to get a treat from Chris, without having to perform any tricks.

A friend from high school had a dad who was a police officer, and Chris oddly became

interested in criminology. This interest led to volunteer service as a police cadet, while in high

school, and he bragged about learning how to fingerprint people and direct traffic. He also

worked part-time jobs in food service at the Bella Union Restaurant, Mick’s Alehouse, and the

Jacksonville Bakery, where he did the after school clean up, got covered with white flour, and

quickly learned that the big vat of white stuff he scooped up with his hands and put into his

mouth was not frosting, but rather Crisco shortening! His outgoing and friendly nature made

waiting tables a good fit for him; he loved all of the people contact, and quickly learned that

bigger tips came if he gave the kids at the table a lot of attention, and got their food out first

while parents were visiting. Later on, he kept up with restaurant catering at the Hilton Hotel in

Portland. He had stories about precariously lighting Cherries Jubilee desserts flaming at the

table, or dropping a whole lobster on the dining room floor, then returning it to the kitchen for

sanitizing, back into the boiling water! His favorite waiter experience, though, was watching the

lush greenery go by while serving tables on the sunset dinner train along the Old Oregon Coast

Scenic railroad.

As a highschooler, he went through the usual 70’s cars like a Pinto (which barely made it up the

hill to school), a Mustang, and every boy's dream, a Camero. His last car was a 2021 VW

Tiguan with all of the high tech features. He never really did figure out how to use the climate

control system, the talking GPS maps, or the personal listening settings on the Sirius XM radio

stations. And yes, he had little patience with electronics such as cell phones, computer

monitors, or printers. He had 3 x 5 card reminders for the washer, dryer, and all of his multiple

work and personal passwords.

As a youth, he had the typical music fascinations of the time like Elton John and “The Cars”,

with posters all over his room, and the excitement of attending a concert. In the next decade,

that interest evolved into Freddie Mercury and the lyrics of “Queen”. His father had a gun

collection, but Chris did not share the same enthusiasm his brother had for guns or shooting. He

would talk about how the opening of hunting season was even a school holiday in southern

Oregon. Instead, Chris tended to look beyond the end of the gun barrel, and saw a world of

travel out there, which he became attached to for the rest of his life! He completed some

college, but at only 21 years of age, he headed to Chico, CA to go to an Academy of Travel and

Tourism. Upon completion, he returned and briefly worked for a travel agency in Medford. Then,

in his early 20’s, he jumped at the opportunity to take a job at American Express in downtown

Portland selling leisure travel; there he could book travel for his clients, and vicariously roam the

world by land, air, or sea. He was excellent at customer service and would send his favorite

clients notecards, gifts, or a bottle of champagne to their hotel room or cabin on board their ship.

He was always so excited to meet hotel, cruiseline, or airline representatives coming into the

office with their promos. Of course he stopped by all of the downtown airline offices and got to

know all the counter staff by first name. He took advantage of the travel industry perks back in

those days, like a three day Catalina cruise, a free night in a suite at the five star Fairmont hotel,

or a first class upgrade on an international air carrier. Most of those perks are gone, but in 2019

Chris spoke to a reservations manager at the Banff Springs Resort in Alberta, Canada, and

explained that he wanted to check out their property for booking future clients. Upon arrival, he

was greeted like royalty, shown to a beautiful one-bedroom suite with fireplace, with a

captivating view of the snow-dusted Canadian Rockies. That night, at turndown service, there

was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries dressed with antlers to look like the park's many

roaming Elk. Throughout the years, Chris was known to enter all of the work raffles, and was

envied by many for his luck at winning the drawings-even took his family to Disneyland once.

For decades, he continued his travel career at Carlson Wagonlit and BCD Travel, although quite

alarmed by the impact of Covid on the corporate travel industry over the past two years. He was

truly dedicated and reassuring to his customers; one time he was observed taking a late call,

risked getting into trouble for overtime, but made sure that a corporate V.P. was not going to be

stuck on the tarmac in Frankfurt, Germany because his connecting flight had been canceled.

Clients praised him and always recognized his voice, but company awards, reviews, or

recognition for professionalism were never his driving force.

Admittedly, the greatest European booking he ever made was taking his mother to London UK,

flying First Class, for sightseeing before her death due to cancer.

So that big dream of leaving southern Oregon and moving to a big city, ( always liked San

Francisco for its culture and vibrance), finally came true with the condo he rented in SW

Portland that had an inviting rooftop pool. He loved walking to work, restaurants, Saturday

markets, the art museum, the historical society, and events at the Auditorium (opera, ballet,

musicals, and the symphony.) He developed many close friendships over the years, some quite

eccentric, and took up many social causes such as Cascade AIDS, various Walk-A-Thons,

Save the Elephants awareness, and political candidate canvassing. More recently, for the past

year, he had been saving returnable plastic bottles for a neighbor who uses the refundable

deposits to buy airline tickets for himself and his wife so they can, annually, go visit family

members across the country.

In Portland he also became an avid bicyclist and was known to ride up to 12 miles per day if he

found a scenic road or trail. More recently, he really wanted to participate in Portland’s Naked

Bike Ride and, although he never peddled in it, he saw that his bike was loaned out and did

make that vicarious and scenic journey. Although never that athletic, Chris did have friends who

introduced him to water skiing, and he bragged about how quickly he learned to get up on just

one ski. How is it, then, that he managed to keep stepping on his sister’s wedding dress, in his

tuxedo and dress shoes, when she got married on the Portland Spirit on the Willamette River?

Christopher had a quiet and very personal Spirituality. Proud of completing confirmation classes,

as an adult, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Portland with his close friend Liz, he enjoyed the

grandeur of the church and was particularly moved by the music. He loved going to Holiday

services and Evening Song. By the time he reached age 55 he was able to talk about and show

pictures of the many other Holy places he had visited:The Vatican in Rome, Saint Mark's

Basilica in Venice, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Montserrat Abbey in Spain, the

Sanctuary of Fatima in Portugal, the Cathedrals of Notre-Dame in Paris and Montreal,

Westminster Abbey in London, and many other shrines in the U.S. and around the globe. Each

sacred visit required enough dedicated time for reflection, votive lighting, and silent prayers. On

the non-traditional side, Chris was fascinated by a trip to Sedona, AZ and an arranged personal

hike with a Native American guide who took him to non-tourist vortex locations. She asked him

to stretch out on a flat rock and guided him through a meditation; he became embarrassed as

he began chanting out loud; she calmly explained he had a spirit guide which would

occasionally make him sing in the shower, which he validated immediately!

His fascination with meeting people and remembering everything about them was astounding; a

stranger did not stay a stranger very long. He once met a couple in Arlington Cemetery waiting

one half hour for the changing of the guard, and remained telephone friends for years. Other

couples he has met on Oceania or Azamara cruise ships have become “family”, calling them

frequently or even visiting their city. Oh, that infamous van ride along the Amalfi coastline, not

knowing if we had been scammed or kidnapped by the Italian Mafia! If he booked a room on a

high enough hotel floor, he would talk to everyone on the elevator, and by the time they reached

the lobby, he knew all about their family, where they were traveling from , what airlines they flew

in on, and how long they were staying. If they happened to ask him what to do in that city, he

would give them a wealth of knowledge about “ what not to miss”. His secret dream was to

become a concierge at a fabulous resort in an exciting city. His desk drawers at home were

always filled with cards from concierge staff all over the world, and he always tipped them well

upon arrival so he would get the fastest, most helpful, and most honest service for the

remainder of the stay. With his coworkers, he liked being part of a group or getting people

together for a group, although he reportedly was not as successful doing this with his own

family.

In 2007, after a year of personal health scares, Chris was convinced, by coworker Pat at

American Express, to contact Raymond, who had just spent a year grieving the loss of his

former partner of 12 years. After a short time, Chris went from planning travel for Raymond, to

planning travel with Raymond. At age 45, Chris had always been single, and the concept of

sharing space and everything else with another person took the slow road to readiness; but with

the loving acceptance of the Allen family, he was now part of a close group that loved getting

together and traveling together.

Another beautiful and timely event for Chris over the past two years was using Ancestry and

DNA to locate a biological sister, Cindi, and her family, living here locally. He had a second birth

certificate with a different name, and knew he had been adopted as an infant, but felt there was

still an emptiness and fear that maybe he wasn’t loved and thereby abandoned. Reconnecting

with this biological family and researching the fascinating history alleviated all anxiety. He was

able to be part of family events with them, and was able to have a fitting headstone fashioned

and placed in Lone Fir Cemetery for his biological mother.

Christopher had a heart attack while at home with Raymond on Saturday, August 20th.

Paramedics were not able to resuscitate him. He had been ruminating about turning 60 this

coming October, and it was hard to get him to plan travel or something fun, rather than think

about growing old. Both of those fears are now resolved.

Most people will remember Christopher as a big teddy bear, full of fun and laughs, lover of

travel, driving skills like Mr. Magoo, and faithful reader of the New York Times( especially arts

and entertainment sections with book and movie reviews). His calendar always had the dates

and time for the Oscars, the Emmys, the Tonys, the Grammys; and all of his friends were kept

informed. He had a quirky sense of humor and would always tell the drive thru window he

wanted his order “To Go”, or ask Popeyes if they had a special on “Big Macs”. Family, friends,

neighbors, and care facilities will miss their visits from Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny-nobody

could fill those costumes like Chris did.The neighborhood dogs will keep stopping by until all the

bones are gone. Your presence will forever be around. Follow your spirit guide.