Christina Louise Keck (nee Bupp), of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, on November 13.
Christina Keck was the wife of Stephen Kistler of Elizabethtown, PA. Born August 5, 1943, Christina was the daughter of Dorothy and Stanley Bupp. Both parents are deceased. Her sister Phyllis Kline, and brother Dennis Bupp, both of Harrisburg, PA, survive her.
Christina graduated from Newport (PA) High School and attended Albright College in Reading, PA. She began teaching in south central Pennsylvania after college, eventually moving to Elmira, NY. During her working life, Christina taught languages in several schools, most notably Elmira (NY) Free Academy before her children were born, and later at Waverly (NY) High School for 25 years before retiring in 2004.
Christina’s first marriage gave her two sons, Dennis Keck of San Diego, CA, and Andrew Keck of Charlotte, NC. Dennis and his wife Melissa have two children, Madeleine and Thomas. Andrew and his wife Denise have one child, Opal. Christina loved all three of her grandchildren as well as her sons and their wives. All survive her.
Christina married Stephen in September, 2009 after both had retired. They first met in the 1990s while working together in a theatrical production known as “Mark Twain ~ The Musical” in Elmira, NY. Christina lived in Elmira more than 30 years and the city is where her husband Stephen grew up. Married, they lived in Elizabethtown, PA where Stephen had his home. Stephen survives her.
Christina enjoyed travel with Stephen, traveling to Germany and Italy as well as many places in the United State and Canada, both before and during their marriage. She had a number of favorite places. Number one on her list was annual visits to Acadia National Park where she loved to kayak on the lakes there while watching for loons, plus spending time at the ocean in Acadia. Other favorite places include Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park, and Mesa Verde National Park, though the couple visited many other places as well. For a number of years they would volunteer two weeks each year on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, working with Resource Management. In retirement, they also spent several weeks each spring at the beach in North Carolina, Christina’s sons and their families joining them when they could.
Close to her retirement, Christina took up knitting, becoming an avid knitter. She produced sweaters, socks, hats and scarves for family and friends. She enjoyed spending time with a group of knitters in Elizabethtown and developed quite a “stash” of yarn.
Suggestions for memorials for Christina include a cancer center of your choice to help fight this disease, the Friends of Acadia National Park, Hospice and Community Care (formerly known as Hospice of Lancaster County), or to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.
There will be no viewing or memorial service, and Christina’s ashes will be deposited privately.