Lewis E. “Chris” Christman Jr., a longtime resident of the Jacksonville Beaches area, died early Friday morning, December 21st, 2018 in his home. He was 99 years old. Chris was born in Ybor City, Florida in 1919 and moved to Jacksonville with his family as a child. He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1937. After attending the University of Florida for two years he joined the Army Air Corps and served in the Pacific theater during World War II as a P-51 pilot. On his return from the war he met the love of his life, Nina Jo Dillon. They wed in 1947 and remained married until her death in 1994. He was a Freemason, a Shriner, and a member of The Royal Order of Jesters, as well as a member of the Jacksonville Rotary Club. He and his wife Jo also enjoyed many years flying as private pilots and were members of the civil air patrol.
He worked for Armour & Company and later became the General Manager of Daylight Grocery Company in Jacksonville. He left Daylight to open his own food brokerage business which became Neptune Marketing, Inc. Upon retirement he was succeeded by his son as CEO and Chairman. In his seventies, he exited retirement to become the CEO of Ryan’s Steakhouses of Florida. He retired a second time at the age of 80. He spent many of his retirement years in the Tampa area fishing, boating, and enjoying his golden years, before returning to Jacksonville in 2012.
He is survived by his son, Lewis E. “Rip” Christman, III and his wife Roseanne of the Chicago area; and his daughter Susan Siciliano and her husband Rick of Neptune Beach, FL; grandchildren, Charlie (Marcy) Hairston of Silver Spring, MD, Chris (Sharon) Hairston of Hagerstown, MD, Chelsea (Miguel) Villanueva of Cleveland, OH, Lewis E. “Troy” Christman IV of Jacksonville Beach, FL, and Alexandra Christman of Orlando, FL; and great-grandchildren, Sophia, Jack, Cervantes, Finnegan, Isabella, Skylar, and Vincent.
