I’ve received the news of Mark S. Christian’s passing from Washington Appraiser, Dave Towne and from George Nervik with National Property Services and wanted to pass this news to the appraisal community. It’s encouraged to contribute to Mark’s family wife and children left behind. And, to keep them in your prayers as well. Bill Cobb
Mark Christian, an appraiser from Bellingham, was struck and killed by an erratic driver on Jan. 1.
Mark’s obit follows, and the story from the Bellingham Herald below.
Mark S. Christian, age 54, of Bellingham, WA passed away on January 1, 2010 as the result of injuries sustained in a hit-and-run accident. He was born on February 5, 1955 in Boston, MA to the late Howard and Marjorie Christian. Mark grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Boston College before moving to Los Angeles. He lived in California for a time before moving to Seattle where he received a Master’s Degree at the University of Washington. He later moved to Bellingham where he was a self-employed real estate appraiser. Mark loved the outdoors. He was a member of the track and field team at Boston College. He was an avid hiker, mountain climber, golfer and skier. He coached his daughter’s soccer team. Mark was very interested in bible study and the Scriptures and was an active member of Chuckanut Community Baptist Church. Mark is survived by his wife Cheryl (Toddhunter), son Adam of San Francisco and daughter Diana of Los Angeles. He was the brother of Howard, David, Emily, Magdalen and John Christian, Dorothy Baker and the late Carol Christian, all of Massachusetts.
A celebration of Mark’s life will be held on Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 2 p.m. at Chuckanut Community Baptist Church (1921 Fairhaven Avenue, Bellingham).
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HOW TO DONATE
Appraisers……..I was asked how appraisers could make a donation to Mark Christian’s family (wife & kids).
I’d suggest a donation be mailed to Cheryl Christian at the Church address below.
The link below has a map to show the church location, in case any of you want to attend the memorial service, Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 2 p.m..
Cheryl Christian c/o
Chuckanut Community Baptist Church
1921 Fairhaven Avenue
Bellingham, wa 98229-9333 Phone: (360) 715-0770
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TRIBUTE
Appraisers…….
This tribute was sent to me by an appraiser who knew and worked with Mark Christian. I have been given permission by the writer to distribute this, with the provision that I redact the appraiser’s name and the bank name. This is a moving statement.
You may also send this to people on your distribution list:
“When I was the Chief Appraiser at ‘Bank,’ I put the late Mark Christian on my fee list. I assigned many appraisals to him and talked for hours on the phone with him: he would frequently call me for advice/mentoring and was a talker’s talker.
Mark Christian was one of the Honest Ones. Honest as the day is long. And because of that he agonized over ethics and morality and the way to do things right. And due to this stance, loan reps, processors and underwriters would get frustrated because he tended to bring up issues that -rightly- needed addressing, and thus slowed down the process and created ‘problems’. I was asked by the bank to reconsider sending Mark any assignments that might be problematic. Read: don’t use this guy so much. This attitude by the bank is one of the reasons I eventually opened my own shop.
And ‘Bank’ wasn’t the only Lender in this boat: Mark’s work load steadily dwindled during the busy years earlier this past decade, to the point that he began teaching USPAP classes to supplement his income. He touched base recently and related as how he had taken time off, hadn’t completed an appraisal in 3 months, and that he was attending to “Life’s deferred maintenance.”
He usually walked in the evenings with his wife. That night, she went to the cinema with a girlfriend. He wasn’t home when she returned….
It is always the hardest for those of us left behind on this earthly plane; I know that at that moment Mark’s soul was freed to reconnect with the Joy, with Eternity, with Love, with Life in its Absolute form. But for those of us still involved in the experience of being Human? May we ALL remember that a car will come out of the Darkness all too soon for us, too, and that few will note or remember us for long, and that the true value of this earthly experience is to make manifest the highest vision of who and what we truly are. This appraiser, for one, will choose that honesty and personal integrity that Mark clung to, no matter where that choice might lead.
It’s all too short to do otherwise.”
Dave Towne
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Article from the Bellingham Herald:
POSTED: Wednesday, Jan. 06, 2010
Victim in fatal hit-and-run died of head injuries
PETER JENSEN – THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
The man who was fatally struck by a van on Chuckanut Drive on Friday evening, Jan. 1, died of blood loss from head injuries, according to the medical examiner.
Whatcom County Medical Examiner Gary Goldfogel couldn’t determine if Mark S. Christian, 54, of Bellingham would have survived if the driver who allegedly struck him, Sean F. Crissy, 18, had called 911 instead of fleeing the scene.
Crissy has not been formally charged but was arrested Saturday afternoon and remains in the Whatcom County Jail in lieu of $400,000 bail.
Possible charges include vehicular homicide, hit and run and violating a no-contact order, said Mark Young, a spokesman for the Bellingham Police Department.
After the collision, Crissy allegedly sent text messages to his father, Franklin, to report that the van had been stolen. The van was found in Arroyo Park with a damaged windshield, according to Young.
A Superior Court commissioner ordered that Crissy have no contact with his father after Crissy allegedly assaulted him in August, according to court records.
That case is pending and has a trial date set for Jan. 19.
A Bellingham Police detective and officers continue to investigate Christian’s death and are trying to establish a timeline of events, Young said.
They have drawn blood from Crissy, and the sample will be tested for the presence of drugs and alcohol, Young said.
After officers arrested Crissy at a friend’s house Saturday, he told them he was driving after eating hallucinogenic mushrooms and drinking alcohol. He also said he was text messaging at the time Christian was struck, according to Young.
Young said detectives will obtain a search warrant to access those text messages.
Young said Crissy also sent messages to friends saying he had been involved in a crash, which will aid investigators in establishing when it occurred and how long Christian was lying injured and untreated.
A sergeant found Christian’s body off the road on Chuckanut Drive near Sea Pines Road at 10:15 p.m.
Christian lived three blocks from where he was found. He had left his home for a walk at 6 p.m.; his wife reported him missing when he failed to return.
Christian grew up in Massachusetts and lived in California and Seattle before moving to Bellingham to work as a real estate appraiser, according to his obituary. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
Reach PETER JENSEN at peter.jensen@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-715-2264.
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