Chris Owens touched the lives of many people in his too-short 26 years, and managed to pack in more travel, work variety and experiences than many ever do. As FlamboroughToday chatted with his family and friends, common themes about how sensitive, adventurous, funny and connected Chris was, and that he knew how to be a good friend.
He was born in 1995 in Calgary, Alberta, where his parents Sandy and Michael and big sister Michelle were living at the time. The family moved back to Ontario when Chris was 5 and chose Waterdown to be near Michael’s parents, Maureen and Walt.
Sandy remembers Chris’s first day of kindergarten at the old St. Thomas Catholic School. She went into school with him and, because he was upset, they sat in the hallway, both of them crying. After that, he settled in and made good friends quite quickly.
Chris and Michelle moved to Guardian Angels Catholic School when the new school opened, and then went to Waterdown District High School (WDHS). Chris got involved in sports right away. He was never very scholastic but was always very personable and popular.
Michelle adds that “He was many teachers’ favourite student, but not because of his schoolwork.”
Chris was late starting hockey (by Waterdown standards), at about age 8, so he was initially behind his teammates. As a result, it was a struggle for his parents to get him to go to practices or games. He persevered and made it to middle of the pack by the middle of the year but was thankful to hang up his skates after the season. He spent the next year watching Michelle having fun at hockey, and decided to sign up again. Unfortunately, after a year off the ice, he was back to not being as good as the rest of the team, so there was a similar struggle.
(Fun fact: Chris and Florida Panthers star Carter Verhaeghe were teammates briefly!)
Chris and Michelle both ran with the Burlington Track and Field Club. Michael remembers that, young Chris would tell them, “I’ve got a tummy ache,” before every race, meaning that he was nervous. His parents’ coping strategy was to feed him baby carrots and ask whether the carrots were working, as a way of distracting him.
For Chris as an adult, a regular run would be 5-10K. There was a strong possibility that Chris would have a cigarette afterwards - or even light up at the start line. Chris ran the Toronto half-marathon after high school.
Miles Evans-Branagh met Chris in about 2006, when they played rep basketball on the Flamborough Fire team. Miles remembers that Chris would be called for taking too many steps every single time he had the ball; his team nickname was “Air Canada” because of his constant travelling. In retrospect, Miles says, “It was a perfect encapsulation of him as a person, always travelling. There was so much life to see that he just wanted to see it all.”
The pair took many high school classes together and were in the first iteration of Rob Flosman’s Grade 11 Genocide Studies class. The course’s culminating task was for groups of students to create a project about hope. Their group chose to go to Allan A. Greenleaf Elementary School and talk to the Grade 8 students about what high school was going to be like. The unscripted presentation was perfect for Chris; he could just go up there and be himself and tell the students to be themselves, that it was all going to be fine.
Miles remembers that there was no small talk with Chris, always big talk.
Michelle went to Australia right after high school, where she worked as a nanny, and Chris went out a few years later. By then, Michael was in Australia too, in Manly, just outside of Sydney. Because his place was small, Michael had arranged for Chris to stay with him for a few days, then move to a nearby hostel. Instead, true to his adventurous spirit, Chris simply left a sticky note one day announcing that he was going up to Queensland with some mates and would be in touch.
After travelling around Australia, Chris started working at a hostel in Noosa. He had a variety of jobs while he was there, including selling tours and excursions on the street. Chris typically used his jobs as a way of saving money so he could travel more; for him, Australia was a jumping-off point to backpacking in Thailand, Bali and Vietnam.
Chris returned to Waterdown for a break, then took on a variety of jobs, working in hospitality at Emerald Lake Lodge in BC for a season, plus a season at a resort in Tofino and a few years as entertainment director on cruise ships.
In 2019, Chris got a job with Flight Centre, which was amazing for him. He was great at sales, people loved him and he loved the job. When COVID-19 lockdowns hit, Chris was able to work from home for a bit, but nobody was travelling, and his job came to an end.
Hayley Robinson, Michelle’s best friend since Grade 2, says that Chris was very much a little brother to her too. As she recalls, he was very busy and active, always, singing, dancing, running, swimming and acting. Hayley laughs when she remembers how Chris would chase people’s cars down the street in his bare feet when they were leaving the house, even as an adult.
WDHS History teacher Nathan Tidridge met Chris in 2013 when Chris joined the trip to Russia organized through the school. Tidridge believes that Chris “genuinely loved people” and notes, “People loved being around him and I include myself in that… You couldn’t help but love Chris Owens.”
In particular, he noted that Chris was a great listener and a really, really genuine person.
Michael remembers several adventures shared with Chris, including white-water rafting together in Wells Gray Provincial Park in BC and an unexpected June blizzard during a mountain climb in 2018 near Emerald Lake. When they were snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, a sea turtle swam through their group and Chris started following it, ending up about 300 yards away in open ocean; Chris was off in his own world.
Many remember Chris as being the life of the party, in terms of his energy and how he would make people laugh. He could re-enact scenes from Schitt’s Creek or movies perfectly. He would record videos with friends and always knew the words to every song, from the Beatles to current music.
Chris was a good friend to many people and was always reaching out to people and wanting to have a connection. If he saw someone sitting on their own, Chris would go and chat with them.
Miles adds that Chris “knew literally thousands of people, but whenever he was talking to you it was just you and him, like there was nobody else in the world.” Chris would always ask how you were and how your family was. When people reached out to him for help,
Chris was there for them, but he was struggling himself.
Chris lost his battle with mental health issues and addiction on Aug. 20, 2021. In the summer of 2022, his family and friends started a fundraiser in his memory, with proceeds going to St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton's Youth Wellness Centre.
The 3rd annual Run for Chris is being held on Sunday, Aug. 18, at 11 at Joe Sams Leisure Park. More information and registration details are available here.
