CHRIS CHAMURIS

1957 - 2021

Chris was taken from us too soon. At the age of 63, on Tuesday February 2, 2021 he passed from an unexpected heart attack.

He grew up in Wappingers Falls to pre-deceased parents William and Patricia, with his two brothers, George and Andreas.

In his early years, Chris was a competitive high school track and cross country runner, setting many individual and team records. While attending Buffalo State, Chris won every road race he entered.

Also, while attending Buffalo State he met, a young woman whom he would soon call “his favorite wife,” Amy. He would tell a story of playing foosball and seeing a “sexy mama” with long flowing hair dancing at the other end of the local bar. They celebrated 39 years of marriage in October of 2020.

Chris would go on to be a devoted and proud father, “three of his favorite children,” Katherine, William and Brianna. He was also a soon to be father-in-law to William’s fiancé, Brianna Rose Bartheld.

Chris devoted much of his life and career to teaching. Some would say, teaching was his love language. He was a pioneer in the field of technology and its incorporation into classrooms across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Chris taught technology education and was the track and field coach at Lawrenceville Middle School from (1979-1997). During his tenure there, he made the transition from teaching shop class to technology and engineering class. He will forever be known for being at the forefront of how we prepare and inspire our children to innovate with technology.

Chris was a writer and the editor of A Framework for the Study of Technology in New Jersey, the first set of technology and engineering education standards published in the state of New Jersey in 1996. The text is still used today at collegiate level. He was an active member for many years and a past president of the Technology Education Association of NJ, now NJTEEA, from 1989-1990. Chris went on to be the technology director of the Pennridge School District in Pennsylvania (1997-2013). While there he was responsible for helping teachers integrate new technologies into their curriculums and use it to connect learning across different subjects. He was a model schools staff development specialist at Dutchess BOCES NY (2013-2017), where he trained teachers to effectively integrate instructional technology into the teaching and learning process. Most recently he returned to where he felt most at home, in the classroom. Chris co-taught biotechnology courses at Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tapan, NJ (2017- 2021).

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Throughout his years as a teacher and administrator Chris remained a mentor and close friend with the high school runners he coached. He would go on to coach one of his running alumni’s children.

In his spare time, which was few and far between, you could find Chris tending to his tomato plants, garden, and growing collection of houseplants and orchids. He was a skilled foosball player, playing in various amatuer tournaments around the Tri-state area. He shared these and many of his other hobbies with his family, for whom he was a dedicated father and husband above all else. He never missed a chance to chaperone a field trip, and always dove headfirst into his children’s diverse passions. His sporadic singing and delicious cooking will be missed and celebrated, as he inadvertently passed these and other interests on to his kids. If he were here today, he would proudly tell you he “ran every morning... from the bedroom to the bathroom” (*insert Dad laugh here*). No matter if it was his work in technology, his personal hobbies, or his dedication to his family, Chris performed everything in his life with passion, purpose, love, and humor.

Chris is survived by his wife, children, brothers, and many nieces and nephews. When it is safe to gather, there will be a celebration for family and friends to play foosball, watch “Seinfeld”, and dance to 70’s classic rock in his honor.

He was a loving father and father figure to many. Chris will be desperately missed.