Memories of Christopher Lincoln McKelvy | Ever Loved

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In memory of

Christopher Lincoln McKelvy

Brentwood, TN, USA

February 15, 1993 - November 22, 2020

Feb 15, 1993 - Nov 22, 2020

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Blake Murino

Mr. McKelvy taught my Theology class and was one of my favorite professors! He didn’t just teach us theology, he genuinely cared about each one of his students. Mr. McKelvy was always available to meet to help with an assignment or talk theology. My dad passed away during the semester I had his class and he drove over an hour to attend the visitation. Then he checked in on me every week after that. One of my favorite memories was when he invited the entire class over for dinner at his house at the end of the semester! He smoked ribs for everyone and even had some vegan meals for a few students who had mentioned once that they were vegan. We were all touched by his hospitality.

I am praying for Emily and the McKelvy family.

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Clarence Moody

Chris was a man who did everything with excellence. He was generous, kind, funny, and smart. I helped Chris and Emily renovate a house they were flipping and they were a hoot! I’ve never laughed as much at a worksite as I did there. Most couples fight and nag throughout renos but not them! The constantly played pranks on each other, joked around, and we’re kind even in stressful times!

I will always remember Chris for the way he treated the workers he hired. He spoke to them respectfully and was appreciative of the work they did. I don’t think a day went by that he didn’t feed them at least one meal.

Praying for Emily and the McKelvy Family.

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Gemma Raymond

Christopher was a young man who loved the Lord. Chris blessed our church and all of the members by teaching us, serving us, and making us smile. After my husband passed away Chris helped me take care of my house. He cleared the gutters, shoveled the sidewalk, mowed the grass, changed the air filters and smoke detector batteries, and he could fix just about anything that needed fixin. He never asked if I needed help, he just took care of it. When Chris moved to KY, he hired a man to do everything he used to do and I never once saw a bill for it. He was a generous young man. I told him that I was capable of doing these things and he said “now Gemma, you sound like Emily. I hear this all the time so I’ll tell you what I tell her. I know you can do it but I want to serve you”. They were good for and to each other. I was so excited to get their marriage announcement and hang it on my fridge.

Virtual hugs and prayers to Emily and the McKelvy Family. Lord willing, I will be at the public celebration of life to give you real life hugs.

Love, Gemma

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In lieu of flowers, consider a gift to Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.

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Noah Jennings

Chris and I were roommates during our freshman year at Moody. We quickly became a friends and attempted to figure out how to adult together. During that year we went to many bulls and Cubs games together (thanks Papa James!), took a trip to the deans office when he was caught grilling in our dorm room, explored Chicago and he studied. I wasn’t surprised to see him breeze through his masters and begin his Ph.D. He was a smart guy and had a bright future ahead of him.

I am praying for James and Karen, Emily and Chris’s brothers as they mourn and grieve.

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Brittaney Lindon

Love and prayers to the family. It’s is sad to see a smart, loving guy taken at such a young age. Chris loved God and loved his neighbor. He was wise beyond his years. I’ll remember Chris for his infectious smile, generous heart and ability to make anyone laugh.

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Abraham Kahn

Christopher and I enjoyed 7 years of Cubs games together. We met the first season he was a ticket holder and sat next to each other the next six seasons. Chris and I had nothing in common. He was a young, black, bible college student from Tennessee. I am an old, Jewish, businessman from New York. That didn’t matter though. We would watch the games and talk theology, race, politics, business and current events. We became good friends and I looked forward to seeing him at each game! During those seven seasons I had the opportunity to meet his parents, brothers, many friends and Emily when he brought them to the games. I’m thinking and praying for them today.

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Terrance Daniels

Chris and I were good friends during undergrad. I’ll be honest, during freshman year I wanted to be friends with him because I heard he was a Chicago Bulls season ticket holder. We enjoyed many games together until his senior year when Emily came along! I kept him around though because by that point I realized how great of a friend he was (even if he took his girl to games instead of his friends)! In all seriousness, Chris was a stand up guy who loved the Lord. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him.

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Rebecca Hammons

Chris was on my brother hall at Moody and I am so lucky to have known him. Chris was kind, loving, generous, and passionate. If you ever needed help moving, fixing something in your house, or studying for a test, Chris was there to help! Chris was such a good friend.

I will always remember Chris’ incredible gift of hospitality. He somehow snuck a grill into his dorm room freshman year and would BBQ for his hall mates—that is until it set is the smoke detector and he was called into the deans office.

Another thing I will always remember is how much he loved Emily. He always had a huge smile on his face, but it was even bigger when she was around! They were truly made for each other! My heart breaks for her.

I am praying for his family and all who are grieving the loss!

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Jackie Brown

Christopher was a gift to the world. He mentored my son while he lived in Chicago. Wherever Chris went, TJ tagged along. He even tried to third wheel many of Chris and Emily’s dates 😆 Whatever shoes Chris had, TJ wanted. When Chris changed his hair, TJ changed his hair. I couldn’t be more thankful that TJ chose to look up and imitate Chris. TJ’s dad wasn’t in his life, but Chris taught him all the things a father should teach a son. TJ now works for the ministry that Chris directed. He attends moody just like Chris. He loves each and every person he comes in contact with just like Chris did. He treats his girlfriend with the utmost respect just like Chris did.

We are so sad to see that he passed away.
I am praying for sweet Emily and his family. We love you all ❤️

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Mary Ann Lysander

Chris was a piano student of mine for 12 years. He was never a piano student by his own choice but you wouldn’t have know that based on his actions. He was polite always saying, “yes ma’am!” with a smile on his face. He continued to play until he turned 17 and his mom finally allowed him to quit. For his last class he brought me flowers and a heartfelt thank you card because that’s just how Chris was!

Chris reached out at the beginning of the pandemic to let me know he had purchased a piano and was going to teach his Emily to play. I don’t think he achieved that goal but his attempt sure left him with memories and funny stories to share! I’m glad we were able to reconnect before he passed away. He sure brightened up my pandemic.

Prayers for Emily and the entire McKelvy family!

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Kim Andrews

Chris was truly one of a kind. He and Emily were mentors to three of the foster kids on my caseload. Chris impacted the life of those kids more than he will ever know. The boys loved to hang out with Chris. He took them on college visits, weekend trips to new places, studied with them, and modeled how to love and serve others.

Praying for Emily and Chris’ family as they grieve the loss of this stand up guy!

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James McCarthy

Chris was a blessing to each and every person he came in to contact with. He truly loved the Lord and sought out ways to serve Him each and every day. Chris’ life was marked by service. He served his friends, family, the youth of multiple cities, strangers on the street. His impact on the world will live on through everyone he loved.

Though we grieve of the loss of one of our favorite people, we do not grieve without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13) because Chris knew the Lord! Praying for Emily as she grieves the loss of her husband, James and Karen as they grieve the loss of their son, and Henry, Liam, David, and Mav as they grieve the loss of their big brother.

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Leslie Ackerman

I taught Chris at Lipscomb Academy for four years. My husband worked with his dad for 30+ years at Vanderbilt. Chris and his family are some of the most generous people I know. I was heartbroken to hear of Chris’ diagnosis in January. We prayerfully pleaded for healing but are glad he is no longer in pain. Prayers for his wife and family!

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Nancy MacKenzie

The saddest news of all of 2020. Chris was a light in this world. He was generous, kind, and loving. I just received Chris and Emily’s marriage announcement last month in the mail. Upon opening it, my husband and I sat around and talked for over an hour about how sweet they were. We are praying for the family!

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Anthony Jenkins

Chris was the best man I knew! He had the freshest shoe game, funnies jokes, and most genuine heart! Thoughts and Prayers for his family!

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Jacob Smith

Chris was a close friend of mine at Moody! We ended up in the same undergrad program and Masters track so we spent a good chunk of our lives together. Chris was truly one of a kind. He was passionate. Anyone that knew Chris could tell you that he had strong feelings and opinions on theology, sports, education and social media. He was engaging as he talked about these topics and always had resources to share. Chris knew what he wanted and went for it in all areas of life. He invested in things he was passionate about and worked towards his goals. One of these goals was to get Emily to marry him and I am glad he finally achieved this! I remember sitting in our dorm at Moody and listening to him talk all about this girl he interned with who he reconnected with (not through social media, ha!) but by cold calling her out of the blue. When she said no to a date, he just couldn’t understand why which was comical to all the guys on our hall. But he continued to ask her out...four more times and eventually she said yes. Soon we started to see Emily two weekends a month and Chris began to leave us the other two weekends. I’ve never seen a couple who was so clearly made for each other. They were hilarious together and impacted many lives.
Chris was always smiling and joking around. Even towards the end of his life he was cracking jokes about what was to come.

I can confidently say that Chris knew the Lord and I am resting in the hope we have in Christ. I am praying for Emily, his family, and all his friends as they mourn the loss of Chris.

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Darian Lamont

Without Chris in my life, I would likely be on the streets of Chicago. Chris began mentoring me when I was a sophomore in high school and dramatically changed the path of my life. I’ve seen all the comments saying he was generous and helpful and that couldn’t be more true. Chris and Emily paid my college tuition last year after I lost my job. They didn’t ask, they just called my school and paid it. Chris spent many mornings of his college career getting up early to make sure I was at school. Chris and Emily allowed my girlfriend and I to hang out with them on the weekends and modeled a healthy relationship for us. They celebrated with us when we got engaged and walked us through planning a wedding and our futures. When the pandemic hit and we both lost our service jobs, Chris and Emily allowed us to stay in their Airbnb property for three months free of charge while we got back on our feet. Even when Chris got sick, he still checked up on me each week.

I am a Christ follower because of Chris and his genuine love of the Lord. He didn’t just talk the talk, he walked the walk. He was generous, loving, passionate, and kind. He will be greatly missed by anyone who knew him.

I’ll be praying for his parents, Emily, his brothers and those adorable nieces and nephews.

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Ray Anderson

Praying for the McKelvy and Schrock Families. I met Chris five years ago when he started dating Emily. We knew we would be seeing him more from the first time she brought him to Sanibel Island! He was a bright, respectful, and wise young man. He could hold his own with us old guys in the coffee shop and with the young ins at the basketball courts. We jogged the same running path on the island and he would greet me with a “Hello Mr. Anderson!” each morning as he passed me. Last year, I saw him on the island in November and knew something was up. The next morning as he jogged by he said “good morning, Mr. Anderson! Emily and I got engaged yesterday!” with the biggest smile I’ve seen on his face. He then proceeded to tell me the funniest engagement story I’ve heard in a long time! Man could he tell a story!

Prayers for the families!

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Layla James

The staff and nurses send our condolences, prayers and thoughts to Emily and the McKelvy family! Our Tuesday and Thursday mornings were much brighter with Chris and Emily at the clinic. They felt more like friends than patients. We will miss Chris’s bright smile, funny jokes, and the sound of his theology podcasts that were always, always, always playing as background noise in his room!

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Diana Lopez

I met Chris in the summer of 2016 when he began to make frequent trips to Louisville on the airline I work for. I am a flight attendant and I work the Friday and Sunday flights to Chicago which means I saw Chris or Emily almost every week depending on who was visiting who 😊 they were the sweetest couple! Our entire flight crew celebrated when they got engaged, it felt like our own kids got engaged! Chris was one of my favorite customers, he was so polite! I haven’t seen them in the last year and didn’t know he was sick. My condolences to Emily and his family!

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Gwen Henderson

Chris will be deeply missed by his entire church family. He and Emily are an integral part of our fellowship. They taught Sunday school and he preached on a few occasions. Chris knows his bible and is a great teacher. On any given Sunday, you can hear and see kids running up to their row in the sanctuary yelling “uncle C! uncle C! Auntie E! Auntie E!”. The babies just love them. We are sad to see him go but are confident that he knew the lord and is in a better place. Love and prayers to Emily and his family!

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Demetrius Lansing

I helped Chris with two of his flip houses. He was a cool guy. I know he will be missed. Praying for the fam.

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Lacey Smith

So sorry to hear this! Chris frequented the bookstore I own in Chicago. He always had a smile on his face, and it was extra bright on weekends Emily was in town ❤️ Sending thoughts and positive vibes for Emily and his family!

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Nancy James

We had the joy of being Chris and Emily’s neighbors for a short time which means we were lucky to be guests at their dinner parties! Chris was always excited to share about recent recipes he had made or share about one of the many home projects he was working on. I don’t think I ever saw him without a smile! I’ll be praying for Emily today and in the months to come.

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Leeland Marks

Chris and I sat through many classes together at Moody. He was an intellectual to say the least! I didn’t know it was possible to pick up languages as quickly as he learned the biblical languages. He was more than just a smart guy though. Chris has a genuine heart and a desire to serve the people of Chicago, particularly at risk youth. He was a mentor to many teens who didn’t have a father in the home.

I’m saying a prayer for Emily and his family tonight and meditating on Psalm 145.

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Created with love by Nadia Smith (Christopher's aunt).

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