Christine Theresa Wanamaker

Christine Theresa Wanamaker, 55, passed away peacefully on January 11, 2020 in Laguna Hills, California surrounded by her husband Steve Wanamaker, their two children Brooke and Kyle and several of her siblings. Born on September 2, 1964 to Ron and Christine Johnson she was the youngest of seven children. She grew up in Brentwood, California. She attended Pacific Palisades High School until her senior year when her parents moved to Fresno and she moved with them and attended and graduated from Clovis High School. She attended Fresno State and received her B.A. in Journalism in 1987. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. After college, she pursued a successful business career and joined Xerox in sales from 1987 until 1994 starting first in Sacramento in 1987 and subsequently worked for Xerox in Fresno and Santa Clara. She later joined NetManage and worked in its Cupertino offices from 1994 through 1998. Christine loved her horse Sir Galahad, a quarter-thoroughbred mix horse that she and her sister Mary rode in English Hunter Jumper events throughout their teenage years. Christine shared her love of horses with her daughter Brooke who she introduced to horseback riding in her teenage years. She met her husband Steve Wanamaker, from Kansas City in August 1991 and they quickly fell in love. Steve proposed 6 months later, and they were married in September 1992 in Fresno. On their first date they met a stranger who engaged them in conversation and when she learned to her surprise that they had only just met, she quickly told them prophetically that "you two are going to get married." Almost all of the 30+ members of Christines immediate family reside in California, and one of her greatest joys was the regular family get togethers at Christmas and Thanksgiving. She and Steve enjoyed traveling, including trips to Siberia, Hawaii, Nevis, Mexico and a memorable trip to New York City to celebrate Christines 40th birthday. Christine and Steve did a fair bit of moving with stays in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Scottsdale, and lastly Laguna Niguel. When they were first married, Christine and Steve had two Alaskan Malamutes (Cali and Timber) and they often spent weekends hiking and sledding with their dogs. More recently they devoted significant time into raising Guide Dogs for the Blind. Their first effort was with Royal, a yellow lab that they trained religiously. Due to Royals hip dysplasia condition, she was not placed into service but Royal found a welcome home at Christine and Steves own home. Christines pride and joy were her two children, Brooke (21) and Kyle (19). Christine passed on her love of animals and nature to them both, and was always keenly involved in their activities such as horseback riding, theatre, surfing, baseball, basketball, volleyball and many other cultural enrichment activities. Christine literally traveled to the opposite side of the earth to become a mother, and she relished every moment that she could instill the love in her heart into the hearts of her children. Christine served throughout her life as an inspiration to her family as she fought numerous health battles valiantly starting with cancer at age 17 while she was a senior in high school. The radiation treatments she received while in high school damaged and compromised her respiratory and heart systems. She underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2010 and a few years later she had a stent and a pacemaker inserted and a cardiac ablation procedure. In 2012 Christine was the guest Passion Speaker for the American Heart Association (AHA) at the Orange County Go Red Luncheon. In her speech she chronicled her own experiences with heart disease caused by her cancer treatments. After talking about her own heart condition she pointed out that the AHA recommended procedures put in practice at the hospital she was admitted to saved her life. She closed her speech by saying that "I now have a mended and grateful heart and feel compelled to give back to the AHA. Being a Passion Speaker is a wonderful way for me to give back and help get the message out about heart disease and women. Please join me to raise awareness and donations to help fight the number one killer of women." Here is a link to Christines interview for AHAs Go Red campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK9OMc6C-Fs Christine was fearless and instrumental in helping her husband Steve after his accident on July 5, 2018 when he sustained a serious spinal cord injury when the chair he was sitting on collapsed. Christine was ever vigilant through Steves whole ordeal and his rehabilitation and thankfully Steve has almost fully recovered from his injury. Like her father, Christine loved to take care of her yard, gardens and her cherished native plantings and succulents. She was especially keen on her plantings such as milkweed and manzanita that attracted hummingbirds, monarchs, swallowtails and other butterflies. She loved watching her favorite Towhees perched in her yard as they foraged and frequently left their perch to catch an insect. She cherished her visits to the Tree of Life Nursery and was especially fond of their specimen manzanita trees. Christine was passionate about bird watching and nature and was especially fond of hawks, owls and other birds of prey. On Christines last Mothers Day, Steve took Christine to La Jolla where they spent the day at Total Raptor eXperience taking interactive falconry classes and ultimately getting to handle hawks on their own. Christine was a stylish well-dressed woman (often seen with one of her trademark colorful scarves) with a bright smile and engaging personality. She loved a good laugh and possessed a sharp wit and keen sense of humor. She met her and her familys health challenges head on but always with grace and style. She was a model of thoughtfulness, decorum and kindness. She was a tender and devoted mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend to the very end of her life. Christine will be deeply missed by her husband Steve; her children; Brooke and Kyle; her mother Christine and her siblings Ron, Kevin, Mike, David, Mary and John along with extended family and dear friends. A memorial service will be presided over by Pastor Leland Lantz and held at 10:00 am on Saturday, February 8, 2020 at Mission Lutheran Church, 24360 Yosemite Road, Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 with a reception to celebrate her life immediately following the service. Following the reception there will be a nature walk leaving the church at 12:30 pm to go to the Laguna Niguel Regional Park. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that any memorial donations be made to Guide Dogs for the Blind. Go to http://www.guidedogs.com/givetoclubs and choose "Laguna Niguel, CA Puppy Raisers" check "Yes, this is an honor or memorial gift" and select "In Memory of" and enter Christine Wanamaker in the "Honoree Name" field. Funeral Home: Pacific Cremation Society 22772 Centre Drive, Suite 130 Lake Forest, CA 92630