She married Orlando Blanco Villegas on April 7, 2011. They honeymooned in Maui, then flew to Los Angeles, CA for a cruise to the Mexican Riviera.
Christy is survived by her husband, Orlando, her sister, Audrey Hailey Sherrill, Marta B. Villegas, Odilia B. Villegas.
Christy Ann Villegas was born on September 1, 1986 in Jacksonville, Florida. She is preceded in death by Great Grandmother Merle Mathis.
Christy graduated from Schaumburg Christian School, Illinois in 2004 as the Salutatorian of her class.
In August 2004 - June 2008, she attended Belmont University with a degree in Nursing and received Summa Cum Laude honors. She was also a Vanderbilt University ROTC cadet, subsequently commissioning into the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant on June 19, 2008.
Christy’s first duty station was Tripler Army Medical Center on Oahu, Hawaii as a Registered Nurse at multiple specialties in the hospital. She volunteered to deploy to Al Asad, Iraq from June 2010 to December 2010. Upon returning from deployment she ran the Pediatric Oncology clinic for the entire Pacific Rim, treating children ages 1 - 17 years old.
Her next assignment was Kaiserslautern, Germany where she was the Kleber Clinic Chief Nurse, coordinating care for a population of over 5000 patients. While stationed in Germany she made every effort to travel and see as much of Europe as possible from Amsterdam, Ireland, London, Paris, Barcelona, Portugal, Rome/Venice, to Greece, Berlin, Switzerland, Croatia, Mallorca, and Luxembourg. She resigned her Army commission on July 1, 2014 and proceeded to continue her career as a civilian in the medical field. Before leaving the service, she obtained the rank of Captain.
Christy’s awards and decorations from the U.S. Army include the Iraq Campaign Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, and Overseas Ribbon.
Christy wanted to expand her knowledge of nursing to become a provider, so she applied to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Out of more than two hundred applicants she was one of ONLY 16 accepted to the Family Nurse Practitioner Master of Nursing Program, from which she graduated with a 3.90 average. She worked primarily in the pediatric practice for several years, but chose to work with oncology patients for a year at Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada to broaden her scope of expertise in the medical field.
Her passion for life was intoxicating and full of love, and she a gentle spirit that touched everyone she met. Her smile lit up the room every time she walked into it. Even from an early age, her ambition was to be a nurse and care for other people. Her fondest memories of her childhood were taking care of her baby sister, Audrey. Her passions were to travel and see the world, something she and Orlando did often, with trips all over Europe and five vacations to the Caribbean.
Things that made Christy smile were her husband Orlando, going on vacation, and her fur babies - KOKO, KEKE and KAM, the KKK kids. To this day her proudest achievement was becoming a Family Nurse Practitioner with a master’s degree. Unfortunately, she was unable to attend the Doctorate program that was next on her list of future plans.
Her new favorite things to do were to be with her husband, travel, and in her words, “smoking a doobie” to take the pain away from this horrible disease.
Christy’s Celebration of Life will be on July 4, 2020 at 3PM including military honors with a reception to follow from 4-6P.M. The event will be at Palm Southwest Mortuary, 7979 W. Warm Springs Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89113. Christy will be laid to rest privately at Arlington National Cemetery at a date soon to be determined.
Attire for the event will be a Hawaiian theme. Women will wear flowery/sun dresses with sandals and men will wear a Hawaiian shirt with shorts (khaki pants can be worn) and “slippers” (flip flops). It will be a festive time, and food and beverages will be provided.
In lieu of flowers send donations to Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation in her honor at https://cholangiocarcinoma.org/.
Loving wife, daughter, sister and aunt!!!
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