Christopher Kilbourne

Born in Ridgewood, New Jersey, Chris grew up there and in Madison, Connecticut, his ultimate home. A graduate of Ridgewood High School, Chris attended Hamilton College with a major in English. He went on to earn a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Cornell.

Working in Washington, D.C. at the National Press Building, he served as de facto Washington correspondent for a handful of small- to medium-sized newspapers around the country. In that role, he rubbed elbows with high-profile journalists and landed interviews with senators and other national leaders. Chris later worked for a series of highly regarded newspapers, such as the St Petersburg Evening Independent and later, the St. Petersburg Times, where he covered both business and law.

After law school, he joined the prestigious firm of Day, Berry & Howard (now Day Pitney) but left a year later to resume a career in journalism, working at a series of jobs in prestigious news organizations. He became a pioneer in journalism on the Worldwide Web, architecting the initial foray of the Bergen Record into this area, and seeing even greater possibilities, becoming executive producer of Philly.com, the portal website for the city of Philadelphia, including the iconic Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News.

Returning to Madison in 2001, Chris joined Business & Legal Reports in Old Saybrook, CT, taking the job of senior managing web editor and ultimately becoming Director of the Interactive Media Group, managing websites and email newsletters with a combined circulation of more than 360,000. In later years Chris also took on successive full-time work as intranet and new media manager for Prudential Annuities; Yale University (as ITS website manager); and the Yale School of Drama and Yale Repertory Theatre. In January 2020, Chris left Yale and joined ASSA ABLOY, working in marketing for the world’s leading producer of physical security and access solutions until his retirement in 2025.

Chris worked not only to his own benefit but also in service to his community. He became an active volunteer board member of the Madison Foundation in 2011. From that time forward, he handled all the Foundation’s IT needs including website design and maintenance and was instrumental in designing its “online giving platform,” structuring the website for more than 30 individual funds, including the Foundation’s “Neighbor 2 Neighbor” Fund. Ultimately, through his vision and expertise, Chris lifted the visibility of the Foundation by helping to implement an ongoing marketing strategy that brought it front and center into the community.

Chris also supported the arts through his unwavering support of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

As a dedicated tennis player Chris was not only a member of the Madison Beach Club, but became a Governor of Madison Beach Club, later developing and managing the nuts and bolts of the membership communication system at MBC for nearly two decades.

Chris was preceded in death by his parents, Edwin D. Kilbourne, a renowned influenza virologist, and Joy S. Kilbourne. He is survived by his three brothers: Edwin M. Kilbourne (Barbara), Richard S. Kilbourne, and Paul A. Kilbourne; his nieces and nephews Oliver, David, Michael (Kristia), Charles, Rebecca, and John Kilbourne, as well as Jennifer Doherty (Peter) and Kate Pellegrino (Kyle); and his four great-nieces and great-nephews, Amaya Sol and Lilah Kilbourne, and Fionn and Carlin Doherty. Chris was also beloved by a network of friends and extended family, near and far.

This sterling gentleman will be deeply missed by all whose lives he touched.

A service for family and close friends will be held at 3:00 PM January 18, 2026. A larger memorial, a celebration of Chris’s life, will be held on June 14. The family asks that contributions in Chris’s memory be made to the Madison Foundation in lieu of flowers.

A quote from Chris’s own biographical sketch:

What a long, great trip it’s been …