Christopher Steven Eckert

Christopher Steven “Chris” Eckert passed away on February 9, 2023 as a result of a complication from surgery. A lifelong resident of Orange County, Chris graduated from Estancia High School (Class of ‘70) and received a BA from California State University, Fullerton in 1974.

Chris was the quintessential “motor head” from an early age, beginning with a mini bike, and moving on through a near-multitude of vehicles over the years. His first true love was his 1969 Ice Blue Road Runner. Subsequent loves included practically every Ford known to man, motorcycles, and culminating in his recent “stable” of two Shelby Mustangs, a Harley Street Glide, and an electric bicycle. His “Buds” group of friends was a gift he had found in recent years, and every ride, every meet-up for coffee, and every conversation was a source of great happiness.

Chris worked for Ford Motor Company for over 45 years. He started as a lot boy at Sunset Ford in Westminster at the age of 16, moving on as a car salesmen while in college, and landing in the finance office for the remainder of his career. His schedule was crazy and problematic when he became a family man, but he worked hard to support that family and made a number of good friends along the way.

Chris’s family meant everything to him. He and his sister, Diane “Cricket” Stevens, grew up in Costa Mesa, and became very close in their adult years. He opened his heart and his home to a girl he’d known in college who had been married before and had two children. Four months after Nancy came back into his life, they were married and spent the next 40 years together. Chris soon adopted Jennifer “Jenn” (Morris) and Noah, and in one fell swoop, he had the family he’d always wanted. In 1985, tragedy struck when Chris and Nancy lost their son Cory in infancy. The arrival of Cody a year later made the family complete. Chris was one of the biggest kids and Nancy used to comment that she had X number of kids, the oldest being - whatever age Chris happened to be at the time.

When Cody was a baby, Lucrecia Gonzalez, a young woman from Nicaragua, came to live with the Eckerts as a babysitter and stayed for 14 years. She became a much-loved and integral part of the Eckert household.

As the children grew up, Chris happily welcomed their significant others: When Noah met Candice, it was a done deal for him…and Candice quickly became a member of the family. Jenn met a kindred spirit in Mike Morris and they were married in 2017. In Mike,

Chris found another motorhead, and his last motorcycle ride was with Mike and the “Buds” last September. Cody met someone that makes his heart sing in recent years and Bryan became part of the Eckert clan too.

Chris was so thrilled to become a grandfather in 2009 when Noah and his wife Candice, welcomed their son, David Christopher Eckert. David was, and will always be, the shining star in his grandparents’ lives.

In retirement, after many years of crazy work schedules, Chris was so happy to finally have the chance to visit his brother-from-another-mother, Simon Nottingham, in New Zealand. He loved it so much in “The Land of the Long White Cloud” that he and Nancy returned a number of times, finding a place that felt like a second home.

The last nearly six years of Chris’s life was spent battling Stage 4 metastatic melanoma, and there were times when it was far from easy. However, he embraced the time he had left by riding more, spending as much time with friends and family, and generally appreciating the life he’d earned - and had been given. He was beloved, and fortunately he knew it.

A memorial service for Christopher will be held Sunday, March 12, 2023 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Fairhaven Memorial Services, 27856 Center Drive, Mission Viejo, CA 92692.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.fairhavenmemorialservices.com for the Eckert family.