Love you, Bro.

Leah's Eulogy for Chip: 

Chip was many things to all of us, an awesome brother, son, cousin, husband, friend and father. There are a lot of wonderful things to remember about him, but the most important was his amazing talent for making us love the things that he loved. He loved movies, music, good company and food, … and oh yeah, jaeger bombs.

If there was ever anyone that wanted to share his experiences with you, it was Chip.  He was always an entertainer, even as a little guy, he was a great story teller, a real mother goose. He had an ability to quote movies and get accents and impressions down, I won’t try to mimic that talent here, but he was charismatic and warm and made everyone feel comfortable. To see a movie through his eyes was to see it in brighter colors.

Music was an important thread that wove through Chip’s life with inspiration from our Aunt Robin and our Cousins, Amy and Becky, and our ever-so-awesome sister, Rachel. He took me to my first concert and we went to dozens more together.

He loved to air drum. Now, this is no easy feat but he used to make it look easy. So easy, in fact, that I still try my very best to do the same while listening to Metallica alone in my own car. Air drumming is one of those things that you have to be extremely confident to do. You cannot be afraid to look ridiculous and bad-ass at the same time and Chip knew how to be both.

My mom and dad are fantastic and raised us well. So much of their best qualities were reflected in Chip. They will tell you that he was always nurturing. When I was a baby, he would climb into my playpen and make me laugh. I used to yell for him when he wasn’t around. He took care of me when I was a baby and then throughout my childhood.

All of my life he welcomed me into his antics.  Whether it was tagging along with him while he and his buddy threw water balloons at passing cars in Texas, or “letting me” lay down on the sidewalk so he could Ollie over me with his Powell Peralta skateboard (which mom only found out about when we were both in our thirties). He was light hearted and always up for anything. He let me hang out with him and his friends in high school and I then chose a college where I could be close to him.

He watched out for me and made sure I would be ok. Chip was through and through my big brother, but he also became the big brother to everyone he met. Once he joined the Air Force he would make dinners and welcome everyone into his home on holidays.  Those that couldn’t get home to visit with their own family would hang out with Chip, and he became many people’s new family. If you stopped by to visit while he was trudging through the thick of chemo, he would make sure that you were comfortable and had a blanket or a spot on the couch to cuddle with the dogs, putting your needs over his own, he loved to take care of those most important to him.

Chip always knew how to have fun (sometimes too much fun) and was constantly amazed with the world around him. Even when things got tough, he could lighten the mood with a joke.  His laughter, his attitude, and his love for everything were contagious. Chip was that guy that everyone wanted to be around because his happiness would emanate to the entire group. We were all lucky to know him.

After he met Jenny, we all knew they were great for each other. Jenny is also laid back and generous. The two of them fit well and became an admirable team, willing to take on the world of Dave Matthew’s concerts and eventually the beast of cancer.  Jenny became a Rohr by marriage and a saint by her actions. She took care of Chip in ways that no one else could, and she did so for four and a half years. We all were prepared for a sprint with this cancer journey and Jenny was well prepared for the marathon; because she knew he would fight like hell.

He went from being a great son and the best brother, Rachel and I could ever imagine, to being an amazing and silly uncle to Audrey, Maddie and Sofia, to then becoming the most wonderfully fun and light hearted father.

When Avery was born, he became complete. He always wanted to be a dad, Chip and Steph made an amazing human together and Avery was the light of his life. Avery has the best qualities of both her mom and her dad. She is smart and funny, generous and thoughtful.

Avery has been raised by four of the best people in the world, Chip and Jenny, Steph and Ryan, they all love her fiercely. Now three of them will continue to care for her and guide her and show her what an amazing person her father was.

When someone dies we want to focus on only great attributes but no one is shaped by all good. There are messy and scaly sharp edges to each of us. Those prickly bits define our soft fluffy edges and give them shape. At times my brother could be cynical and total know-it-all but he was also hilarious and kind. Like humans before him and all of us left after him, we all are combined with horrible and wonderful bits, swirling together marking territory and making memories.

We are all forever changed because of cancer, I have never hated something more. But it has shaded our good parts to be more defined and poignant. Good and bad we will never be the same. I’m not sure what stupid lesson we learn from someone we love being taken way too soon,  but I do know that Chip would have wanted us to remember the good, as we are all better people just for knowing him.

So Chip, for you, “Celebrate, we will, because life is short but sweet for certain”

Love you bro.