Christopher was an incredibly talented and well-loved father, son, brother, uncle, and friend. His 6-year-old daughter, Lucy-Rose, was the light of his life and the center of his world. From the day she was born, she was his greatest priority, and his greatest joy was being her Dad.
Chris was kind, caring, and would help anyone who asked. He had hundreds of friends throughout Sacramento, across the country, and around the world. He had a gift for making every person he encountered feel ‘seen’ and spent time getting to know them. He loved and served people no matter their station: he would literally give his coat to someone who needed it, or give half of the groceries he’d just bought to someone sitting on the sidewalk who was hungry. He played chess for months with a houseless gentleman with a dog, in front of a downtown Stop ‘n Shop, and they became good friends. While he did not hold down a ‘conventional’ job, we now realize that his true calling and purpose in this life was to love and be of service to his family, friends, and others throughout his community– honestly, to people everywhere he went. Many of his friends, as well as our family, have been inspired to carry on Christopher’s legacy by more consciously demonstrating loving-kindness and care toward others in his honor.
Chris was a lifelong performer and creator. He was self-taught on piano and guitar. He could pick up any instrument, draw anything, build any puppet, and sing any song. He could even tap dance. He sang in the backup choir for Andre Bocelli, interviewed Danny Glover with a custom puppet, and even built a puppet in the likeness of Bernie Sanders, which he gifted to Sen. Sanders at a rally.
Christopher was active in the Sacramento theatre community from age 9. He performed locally with Music Circus (‘Little Joe’ in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat) and Best of Broadway, and traveled with the National Broadway Tour of Les Misérables as Gavroche at age 10. He attended American River College and then Sacramento State University, where he learned the art of playwriting and puppetry and graduated with a BA in Theater Arts in 2010. He attended Second City in Chicago, interned at Berkeley Repertory Theater, and taught university-level puppet workshops for the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival - Region 7. Somewhere along the road, he learned clowning. He also spent several summers helping to build the county exhibits at the California State Fair.
Chris loved entertaining his community. He enjoyed writing original songs and producing original musicals, including ‘Hell Yeah, Space!’ and ‘Green Glass Door,’ which he directed and performed with his many theater friends. He spent many nights puppeteering downtown (many of you may remember his ‘Puppet Bike,’ which was featured on local news!), doing stand-up improv with friends, participating in and supporting friends’ shows at various theaters, and performing with local musician friends. He often pushed his piano out onto his balcony and would take requests from passersby, or would set up with his guitar and sing on a street corner during Art Walks.
An activist for social justice and the environment, in 2016, Chris donned a Col. Sanders costume and was highly entertaining as ‘Col. Bunny Sandals’ –a campaign shtick for Bernie Sanders. He ran for Governor of California in 2018 as a Green Party candidate, advocating for sending a Californian to Mars. He had the number 7302 tattooed on his arm to commemorate the number of votes he received. Chris was a force!
Christopher also had a passion for astrophysics. He attended and volunteered for at least four Starmus Festivals–annual international festivals celebrating science and music– traveling to Switzerland, Bratislava, and the Canary Islands, where he met Jane Goodall and Buzz Aldrin.
In between and throughout all of his adventures and creative pursuits, Chris loved hanging out with people. He enjoyed river floats every summer and parties with his friends. He was an avid Philadelphia Eagles fan and attended meetups at a local brewery during football season to watch the games with other fans. He loved the (formerly Oakland) A’s –and submitted designs to the club for a new A’s logo that included the Tower Bridge. He loved to travel and visited at least 7 European countries–making new friends everywhere he went– often hand-sewing puppets along the way, which he would sell to help pay his travel expenses. He always found creative ways to follow his dreams and interests, and led a very colorful life!
At the end of the day, Christopher loved his family & friends–each and every one of us; and he loved life. He loved his sweet nephew Oskar. Above all, he loved his daughter Lucy.
His final message to family and friends:
“It really is such a pleasure to be alive and kind in the world, and to practice kindness. Life is a gift. Let the space [I leave behind] be filled with focused connection, found purpose; and, in my memory, act out of joy and spirit and kindness to one another.”
Christopher is survived by his daughter Lucy-Rose (age 6), whom he loved with all of his heart; parents Bethany Davis (Scott) and Michael Carlson (Rhonda); sister Brianna Behnoud (Amir) and adoring nephew Oskar; sister Lacey Carlson (Savannah); half-sister Jei Carlson; stepbrother Josh Sigler; and sstepsisterCC Reyne (Dallin) –and their children. He was the grandson of Pastor Harry & Violet Carlson, Cathie Heller (Phil), and Pastor Curt Pedder (Kathleen).
WE ALL LOVE YOU, CHRIS!!!
You are the BEST Dad, the BEST Brother, the BEST Son, the BEST Friend.
We are all grateful to have known you in this lifetime, and we promise to continue your legacy here as you have so commissioned us. May we all intentionally choose to live our lives with more kindness, compassion, and joy in your honor. And also~ Go, Birds!
*****
Hell Yeah Space
- By Chris Carlson
Hell Yeah Space, Hell Yeah Wonder
Hello vast empty universe,
It’s time to explore!
Every trace
Leaves me breathless
Which star shall I revolve around today?
Good-bye solid ground
Good-bye safe and sound
Hell Yeah Space!
Back then
When I was–what I was
–was what I was
–BUT–
Now I’m here
In Outer Space
And I can taste the man I want to be!
Free to find my way
My ship came fightin’ in
I’m not only skin and bones
So let my story now begin!
It’s inside of me, It’s inspiring me
And I can feel Magnetic Fields
in my Soul!
Now I’m here
Goodbye fear
Hell Yeah Space!
- Copyright 2014
