Christy Link Briggs

Dad passed away on the evening of June 12th 2024 from heart failure surrounded by his 4 loving sons. He ran from this life into the loving embrace of his darling wife, Kristie, whom he has been missing dearly for 25 years. The vision of that joyful reunion lifts our heavy hearts as we say goodbye to our sweet father.

Christy was born into a family of 4 older brothers in St. Louis Missouri, he being the cute baby of the gang. He grew up in Southern California and always remained a Californian at heart. At a young age dad lost his father and was thrown into very difficult circumstances, but through it all he maintained his sweetness, loving heart, and funny sense of humor - which we think is how he snagged mom because she was way out of his league :)

As a young person Dad developed many unique passions and talents including scouting, performance theater, photography, guns, motorcycling, and being in the great outdoors. He attended BYU and earned his Communication degree. Dad lived an exciting life of exploring and adventuring. Dad was an avid motorcycle enthusiast. He worked for Yamaha and Hodaka early on in his career and only gave it up (at the request of his wife) to raise his boys. He picked it back up once his boys were grown and rode until 2020 when he physically couldn't do it anymore. All his nieces and nephews knew him as the cool uncle that would take them for rides on his motorcycle. He was a skilled outdoorsmen and worked as a survivalist trainer. Dad deeply loved the outdoors. That’s were he was at his best and felt the most confident. This sentiment lasted his entire life.

But it was when he met his sweetheart Kristie that he started his greatest adventure.

Mom and Dad met at a single’s ward activity, where a group of girls, which included mom and her best friend Peggy, invited men from all over the valley to a pre-dance dinner and then the bachelors would escort one of the girls to a Christmas dance at The Hotel Utah. Giggling, the girls lined up mom and dad because they thought it was cute and funny that they had the same name. The two Christies danced the night away at Hotel Utah and fell head over heels for each other. Destiny had the best laugh though because both Kristie and Peggy met their husbands that night and the couples have been life long friends ever since.

Mom and Dad were sealed for eternity in the Manti Temple in Utah on October 25th, 1979. Dad was the happiest and most complete being with his wife. He was a true and loyal husband. He found great joy and purpose in making sure she felt safe and happy, and spent his life working towards those ends. They had a happy and fulfilling marriage, welcoming their 4 boys in whom they took their greatest pride. Together they worked towards building a happy and loving home, creating deep connections and fun memories. Their life was filled with meaningful relationships, especially with Dad’s best friend Rich Bailey and his family, Dad claiming the Bailey girls as the daughters he always wanted.

Dad really loved his 4 sons. They were the most important thing to him, second only to his wife. He was a very present father, instilling a love of the outdoors and camping in his sons. He spent time with his sons teaching them how to be explorers, how to be brave, and how to be a man. It was his goal to “raise gentlemen”. Anyone who knows a Briggs boy knows just how successful he was.

It is important to us to acknowledge what dad did for our mother when she got sick. He sacrificed so much to make sure he could take care of her. He lost his job about the same time she began getting sick. Where other men would have focus on advancing their careers, dad found a job that made it possible for him to be there and physically take care of her. For 5 years, as mom’s health declined, Dad was the one who took care of her, attending to all her needs - literally carrying her when she couldn’t walk anymore. He endlessly and lovingly served her with all his heart and without complaint. He did all he could to fill her life with joy and love and worked very hard so his sweetheart could live out the remainder of her days in the dream home they built together. When she died, it broke our father’s heart and he has been waiting to return to her ever since.

Dad had a deep and enduring testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and The Book of Mormon. He wasn’t born in the church. He found the gospel when he was 16. When he was 25, he served a mission in Rapid City North Dakota. Dad sat on the front row at church with his children every Sunday. He was a routine testimony sharer because it was important to him for his children to hear his testimony. He loved music and even though he was a terrible singer, he loved to sing loudly with the church choir. One of his highlights was actually singing in General Conference. He served frequently in church callings providing food for several treks and scout camps. Even after his wife died and his children grew up, dad continued to attend church by himself for 20 years and only stopped because of the pandemic, so great was his faith and love of the gospel. We are so grateful for his friends in his ward who welcomed him, fellowshipped him, and supported him. It meant the world to our dad.

Dad had a loving and welcoming nature. In the last 30 years he’s had at least a dozen people he welcomed into his home and offered them a safe place to stay. It wasn’t uncommon to find someone sleeping on his couch whether it was a family member, some of the boy’s friends, or someone he met that needed a hand up. Christy was so good to people and shared what he had. He had an attitude of service and became a Certified Chaplain at St. Marks Hospital as well as a volunteer chaplain with The Red Cross - helping with a mining disaster in Central Utah and hurricane relief in the Southern States.

Dad found his paradise on earth when he began working at Bryce Canyon National Park as a hospitality specialist at The Lodge at Bryce Canyon. He loved spending the quiet moments in nature listening to the birds and seeing the beauty all around him everyday - not to mention all the yummy free food. He thrived in this setting and was the happiest we’d seen him for a long time. He loved when family came to visit and gave the grand tour sharing all the details of his life and adventure down there amongst the hoodoos.

In his later years, Dad became a father in-law and a grandpa. He adored his daughter in-laws and loved his grandkids in the same manor he loved his boys. He shared with them his passion for the outdoors and camping. He loved to travel and explore with his family and grandkids. He was always up for an adventure, especially if someone else was paying or there was a comfy place to sleep. He loved hiking and exploring as a family. He would talk with someone as we walked and his favorite thing to say was “Now, you have to ask yourself, how did [insert some interesting thing he saw along the trail] get here?” He proudly displayed notes and pictures of his grandkids all over his house.

Dad had the amazing ability to ‘just show up” for people. We teased him about saying “I’m just showing up” to family gatherings, but that ability to show up for people was life changing for so many because he was always there and that’s not nothing, in fact that’s really something. He always excitedly greeted his family with a smile and never let anyone leave without a hug and an “I love you, son” or “I love you, dear”. It was his way - always loving.

Dad was proceeded in death by his loving wife Kristie Fehr. His Mother Margaret Dartt Briggs and Father Glenn Briggs. His brothers Glenn, Walt, and Pat. He is survived by his sons Glenn Chandler (Amber Dawn), Skyler Christian (Lindsey), Mackenzie Carl (Alicia), Sandel Boulton (Amber) , his brother Bruce, and 9 Grandchildren Gabriel, River, Lucy, Russell, Robin, Chanceton, Margaret, Reed, and Breklyn.

Dads family would like to thank the members of the Crescent 21st Ward for their generosity in the care they provided to their mother and the care of their father over the last 30 years.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 22nd at 11:30 am at the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints 11570 Wasatch Blvd, Sandy Utah. Immediately following there will be a luncheon and celebration of life for family and friends to reminisce and remember our Father, Brother, and Friend Christy Briggs. Gravesite service will follow at Wasatch Lawn 3401 S Highland Dr, Millcreek, UT.