Christopher Graham Castle was born on August 26th, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in the lovely, wooded neighborhood of Shaker Heights with his parents Jerry (Everett Jr.) and Mary; his older brother Mike (Everett III), and his big sister Meg (Marguerite). As a child, he played soccer, built rockets in the backyard, and was the proud owner of an authentic Davy Crockett outfit, complete with a coonskin hat.

As a teenager Chris began his lifelong passion as a music guru and made many lifelong friends. He graduated from Cleveland Heights high school in 1976 and pursued his Bachelor's degree at Boston University and the University of Massachusetts, earning a dual major of German and Psychology.

Between 1982 and 1984, Chris travelled the world, learning as much as he could from places and people, fully utilizing his multilingual abilities and warm geniality. He lived in Berlin, Germany and New York City. He learned French, Spanish, and Russian. Later in his life he became a skilled poet, taking a great interest in the forms of written art and becoming an expert in the English language.

In late 1984, while living in San Francisco, he met Mary Francis Cameron. They moved to the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan and married on May 25th, 1986. Together, they had three beloved daughters: Emily Jane (34), Sarah Kate (30), and Laura Marguerite (27). In 2012, his twin granddaughters Alexandra Mary and Abigail Rose James (9) were born. In 2022, just one week before his passing, his grandson Daniel Christopher James (3 months) was born. He was so incredibly proud of his family.

Christopher was truly a unique, intelligent, down to earth, and intuitive soul with the brightest grin and most contagious positive energy one could carry. He was passionate about helping people and committed to making the world a better place. He worked at M-Care, a managed insurance program through the University of Michigan, as an Account Executive from 1987 to 1996 and at Health Plus from 1996 to 1998, aiming to help consumers acquire affordable, quality medical care. He lived in Cleveland, Ohio and Austin, Texas in the late 1990s.

After leaving the insurance business, he utilized his love of languages and served as an admired English as a Second Language Instructor at Berlitz Language Center in the Detroit area from 2001 to 2009. In 2009 Chris moved back to San Francisco and joined the staff at Arriba Juntos, a language and career education center for immigrants, where he worked from 2009 to 2020. He is remembered at Arriba Juntos for the many magnificent lessons he delivered and for being an inspiration to his students. He made a significant difference in their lives, helping them learn English and successfully settle in a new country.

In 2010, Chris met Natalia (Natasha), a student in one of his English classes, and they fell in love. They married in the fall, settling in various parts of the Bay Area and enjoying the beautiful coast and the pleasures of the city together.

Sadly, Chris was diagnosed with stage IV pharyngeal cancer in 2016. He battled through it, enduring both radiation and chemotherapy treatment—and he survived. He went into remission in 2017, a success he was extremely proud of. However, the damaging effects of his cancer treatments surfaced in 2021. Radiation had caused degenerative discs in his spine, pinching nerves on his right side, causing major numbness and difficulty walking. Still, Chris remained strong and hopeful, treating each setback with dignity, courage, and good humor.

Chris returned to Michigan for a few weeks in 2021 to spend time with his daughters and granddaughters. He then returned to his adopted city of San Francisco, determined to maintain his independence in the city he called home even as his physical condition deteriorated. His daughters Laura and Kate visited as often as they could; Chris and his brother Mike also remained close, talking weekly and visiting whenever possible.

Chris passed away on February 1st, 2022. He will be remembered as kind, introspective, sensitive, funny, eloquent, joyful, smart, and artistic. He was a father, grandfather, brother, husband, uncle, cousin, teacher, poet, and overall legend to those who knew and loved him.

May he rest in peace with lots of dark chocolate to eat and Nirvana to play, with that unfailing grin.

Send to someone

Share this obituary with others

https://everloved.com/life-of/christopher-castle/obituary/

Copy