Christopher Joseph Kemberling

December 11, 1953 – April 9, 2023

For years, decades really, Chris Kemberling would wonder out loud, "Today, Lord ? Are You coming today?"

Not that Chris didn't love life: just the opposite. He relished it – his family, his friends, the beauty that God provided at every turn.

But being ready for when Jesus was coming back, or calling him home, that was the way Chris lived his life, his wife Michele said.

On this Easter Sunday, April 9, as Chris was getting ready to leave for church to teach a Sunday school class about the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus must have decided 'today was that day.' Chris had a heart attack and although his grandson Jordan called 911 and his neighbors administered CPR, Chris died in the hospital a few hours later.

Family members don't think it was by chance that it was Easter when Chris, who lived his life for Christ, was called to meet Him face to face.

If anyone saw Christ as an example of how to be a good man, it was Chris. His eagerness to help others seemed to be his driving force in life, recalled longtime friend Dennis Joyce. He said the good works of the man with those ever-present twinkling eyes and smile on his face were too numerous to count.

Also countless were the friends Chris made during his journey on Earth. If you were a friend of his, you were a friend for life.

Chris made friends wherever he went, from his extensive work in journalism, photography, advertising and marketing in Tucson, Sierra Vista and Green Valley, to his church and Sunday school classroom.

He loved teaching children about Jesus, his wife said, "and they loved him. His class was never just like another school day. He loved making it fun."

He would make friends and minister to people that he and his dear friend Karl Marts would find in the homeless camps the two would meet during their weekly trips to local washes. The two would bring food and other items generously donated by the members of Verge Church. Just like people Chris met anywhere else, those in the homeless camps responded to him, Michele said. "With his joyful nature, everybody loved him. He had an incredible ability to connect to people."

Chris received his University of Arizona Liberal Arts degree in Journalism with a minor in microbiology, the latter probably because of the influence of his father, a doctor. He started his career as a photographer, then later worked in advertising and finally as an IT specialist -- or "IT genius" as those he helped would call him.

Wherever he went and whatever he did, his life's goal was to follow Jesus.

"We saw the sacrifices he made to be a servant to others," said son Quinn, who also remembers his dad's integrity and honesty.

"I was little and my dad and I stopped at the grocery store. We were putting the groceries in the car when my dad noticed that a carton of Pepsi was still in the bottom of the cart. When we finished loading the car, we started walking back into the store," Quinn said. "I asked him why and he said, 'We didn't pay for these. We have to go back and do the right thing. Whether it's convenient or not, we always have to do the right thing.'"

"That had such an influence on me and all the kids," Quinn said. Chris' character showed in everything he did.

Even in his work with computers, he found a way to minister. He would repair or upgrade a computer for anyone. He'd take parts from old, broken-down computers and put them together to make a working system and then donate it to someone who needed one but couldn't afford it.

His quest for knowledge was another trademark. The more Chris knew, the more he wanted to know. Friends considered him a master photographer, an amateur meteorologist and a great chef.

Services to celebrate Chris' life will be at Verge Church, 6121 E. Broadway, Suite 152, Saturday, April 29 at 2 p.m. It will be officiated by Pastor Rich Markeson. Pastor Gary Hartzler will be a speaker. It will be followed by fellowship and the eating of sweets, Chris' favorite thing to do after – or before – any church service.

Chris is survived by wife Michele, children Laura (Afshin) Olamai, Timothy (Kelli) Kemberling, Kyle (Katie) VanRenterghem and Quinn (Stephanie) VanRenterghem; sisters Marian (Bernie) Jacobs and Teresa (Chuck) Goldsmith; brothers Randy (Maureen) Kemberling, Pastor Frank Kemberling, Peter (Sonia) Kemberling, and Father Andrew, formerly Jess Kemberling; sisters-in-law Mary Lou Kemberling, Debbie Kemberling and Vicky Willey Kemberling; grandchildren Ethan, Arianna and Kamron Christopher Olamai, Dylan Kemberling, Jordan and Azalia Gerardo and Ezra Dorame; numerous nieces, nephews, great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews and a goddaughter and a godson.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Sydney and Marian Kemberling, daughter Amberlyn VanRenterghem, brothers Gene, Konrad and Paul, and sister-in-law Lynn Kemberling.