Christopher P. Gratzer's Obituary
Christopher Philip Gratzer was born on July 22, 1985 and passed away April 5, 2017. He was born in Tacoma and attended Puyallup Schools. He was a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers. He truly enjoyed being a heavy equipment operator.
While in school, he played the clarinet, bassoon and later the drums. He enjoyed anything outdoors: BMXing, skateboarding, snowboarding and especially dirt biking. Times vacationing with the family at Lincoln City, Wenatchee and short family trips to Eastern Washington and Oregon meant a lot to him. A special trip to San Diego and Disneyworld were enjoyed by him too.
Although family trips were important to him, he loved camping with his friends, especially with his dogs Buddy and Diesel. He always seemed happiest when outdoors sitting around a campfire.
He was pre-deceased by both sets of grandparents and his baby brother, Timothy.
He is survived by father, Rich Gratzer and longtime girlfriend Tea Kelly. He is also survived by his mother, Trish Gagliardi-Yates, step-father Jim Yates, and his beloved sister Carin, her fiancé, Andrew Melton and their daughter, Luna, Christopher’s niece. Many aunts, uncles and cousins also survive him.
A special thank you to the ICU Department at Good Samaritan Hospital. Their compassion and professionalism was so appreciated.
A celebration of life is planned for a later date.
We will miss him dearly.
“You can shed tears that he is gone or can smile because he has lived.
You can close your eyes and hope he will come back or open your eyes to see all he has left.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live in yesterday or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember him only that he is gone or you can cherish his memories and let them live on.
You can cry and close your mind or you can do what he would want-
Smile, open your eyes and go on…”
--Adapted from David Harkins
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