Christopher Julius Petrikas

Christopher was born on January 15, 1945 at Women's and Children's Hospital in Chicago, IL. His parents were Joseph and Bernice Petrikas. Chris was raised in Chicago, IL. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up in the Petrikas household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. He had two older brothers, Joe and John. Chris was constantly involved in activities with his brothers. Chris and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but he was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Chris was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. Chris developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. Chris was an active participant in choir. However, what Chris enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Chris as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from St. Philips in 1963. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. He sang at the Chicago Catherdral with the Georgian Chant Choir. Chris was a very logical person and he was able to learn much through observation. Chris always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

College life brought with it a new set of challenges, but he handled them well. Being a critical thinker who always remained intellectually independent, Chris was able to focus on the task at hand in order to complete his class work. The ability to efficiently complete the task at hand was a skill that served him well during his college and training experience. He earned his airframe and powerplant certificate. He also earned all his pilot's licenses in his early 20's. He loved teaching others to fly.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Chris was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, he was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Chris to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, some of his best friends were Hans Schneider and Paul Zamatus. Later in life, he became close friends with Chuck and Sally Farano and Pat and Darla Reynolds.

On May 24, 1980 Chris exchanged wedding vows with Christine Anna White at the La Crescenta Church of Christ in La Crescenta, CA. Compassionate and devoted to Christine, he held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Christine and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Chris brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. They were blessed with 10 children; Justin, Dominic, Maureen, Kathryn, Lorrie, Nicholle, Brian, Philip, Matthew and Christopher. They were also blessed with 19 grandchildren; Ariana, Veronica, Violet, Kay, Ivan, Jane, Braden, Andrew, Jackson, Caitlin, Charles, Chelsey, Graham, Ashley, Ian, Evan,Shaun, Cole and Edward.

Chris loved what he did for a living. He had an amazing passion for avaiation. He was a hard worker who expected the same in return from his co-workers. He enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Chris was excellent at meeting deadlines. His primary occupation was an airline pilot. He was employed since 1977 with Air California, Air Cal and American Airlines. He was also a general aviation instructor and a ground instructor for Continental Airlines.

Although Chris was not enlisted, he flew troops into Vietnam as a civilian pilot. A literal thinker who possessed a calm exterior, he admired the routines set forth by the military and was proud of all our soldiers.

Chris was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He attended The Grove Community Church for 10 years. During that time, he has raised his children to love the Lord. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

He enjoyed traveling and taking vacations. Since he was an early starter and had a knack for planning everything, traveling with him appeared effortless. He enjoyed researching all of his examined options and applying cost-effective planning techniques. Plus, no matter where he traveled, he always had a back up plan at the ready, just in case. Favorite vacations included Italy, numerous Disney cruises with family, Oshkosh and Hawaii with his family in 1988.

He was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of his favorites was Fred, a female German Shepherd who walked into the garage and adopted Pop. They were best friends for 14 years. He had many other dogs, each as loyal a relationship as the previous.

Upon retirement in 2004, life did not slow down. His new life involved relocating to Riverside, California. In retirement, he found enjoyed golf and travel. He opened and operated a flight school with 2 of his sons. Even in retirement, he continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He often said he worked harder in retirement than before but he enjoyed every minute of it.

Christopher Julius Petrikas passed away on December 20, 2010 at Perris, CA. He is survived by his loving wife, children and grandchildren; his brother John and several nieces and nephews including Dr. James Petrikas, Maryanne and their children Maddie, James, Caroline, Lucas and Nicholas. Services were held at The Grove Community Church. He was laid to rest in Crestlawn Memorial Park in Riverside, CA.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Christopher Julius Petrikas. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a man of the Lord and an example for others to follow. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved. He was a well respected man by many and loved by all.

Phillipians 1:6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completetion until the day of Christ Jesus.