PEDIATRICIAN, FRIEND
Karen Hanten and Chris share a good laugh after shoving birthday cake into each other’s face at a party. It was a family ritual.
As the Kyle family pediatrician and Taya’s dear friend, I knew Chris first and foremost as a husband and father. Speaking of legends! He made such an impact on Taya and his children’s lives that I truly believe they are blessed with his memory and the undying love and devotion he gave them. I will never forget his deliberate, selfless, and complete love for them; it had no boundaries.
I loved the way Chris never tired of telling Taya (whom he almost always called “babe”) how beautiful she was to him, even when she was soaked head to toe after a water fight with the kids. Or how he so wanted her to be happy that he’d bring home Chinese food time and time again, despite the fact that he really, really disliked Chinese food.
Because of Chris, the kids always answer, “Yes,” never “Yeah”; they say “sir” and “ma’am” and treat their elders with respect. Their favorite thing was to run at full speed and jump on Chris while he was on the couch; even exhausted, he never tired of playing with them. They love to play and roughhouse, but they know when to stop and respect limits, even one of Chris’s own: don’t mess with another person’s hat.
My family and I have always had great respect for our military. Chris’s passionate dedication to his fellow soldiers and veterans has set a higher bar for the degree of commitment my family and I now have to them. Chris will always be a role model to our kids, demonstrating what we owe our military, and I am grateful to him for that.
Personally, I will miss his quick wit and incredible intelligence, his huge smile and laugh, and shoving cake in his face every birthday party, even though he always got me back worse. Before every deployment, I always promised Chris I would care for Taya and the kids as I would my own. That commitment remains steadfast.