Chris was born July 17, 1965 in Berlin, Germany, the youngest son of Gerd-Heinz and Marianne Nowicki (Havana, FL). He is survived by his parents; brothers, Stefan Winfried Anders (Durham, NC) and Thomas Bernhard Nowicki (Berlin, Germany); and sister, Manuela Kirsten Nowicki Garner (Wellington, FL). The family emigrated to Ft. Myers, FL when Chris was young and there is where his love of fishing was born. They later settled in Havana, FL where Chris graduated high school near the top of his class and received a full scholarship to Florida A&M University. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from FAMU in Computer Information Systems/Software Engineering.
Chris was a man of many passions. Foremost among them are his wife, Lucy Wang; daughter, Bingbing Liu; and sons, Nicholas and Zachary. Lucy often said she actually had four children and those who know Chris adamantly agree; he was a big, lovable kid himself. He often said his greatest achievements were marrying Lucy and spending quality time with the children.
Software engineering was more than just his career. Chris loved writing code and even entered competitions in his spare time. He was so excited about it that he wanted to share his love with others and started teaching on weekends for FSU’s Center for Professional Development and then returned to his alma mater, FAMU, where he taught as an instructor and adjunct professor until now.
Chris loved gadgets and tinkering which explained the toolkit he always had handy on his belt. He collected antique calculators, old computers and old vehicles such as his vintage Model A and classic BMW motorcycle. Both of which spent more time being worked on than driven.
Travel was in his blood. For many years, he could be found riding his motorcycle in search of a good meal; his motto -- Ride To Eat. One of his proudest rides was completing an Iron Butt qualifying ride that included the Deal’s Gap Tail of the Dragon road (318 turns in 11 miles). That meal search didn’t end with motorcycles. He was partners with his best friend owning a 1965 Cessna airplane. They would spend weekends flying to Orlando, Atlanta, Nashville, and anywhere else they could get a $100 Hamburger (when you factored in fuel costs).
Chris, Lucy and the family traveled to China, Europe, and Canada as often as they could. His dream was to find a remote job that would let them move to someplace and spend months there so the kids could really experience other cultures.
Finally, Chris wasn’t just content with being earth-bound. Space was a life-long passion and at age 54 he applied to the NASA Civilian Astronaut program. Sadly, he didn’t get an answer before it was too late.
For those who wish to donate to a charity in Chris' name in lieu of flowers, the family would like donations made to the Space Camp Scholarship Fund.
The instructions are:
Go to https://www.gospaceeducation.org/general-fund
Click on Donate Today
Under "My Donation is for" select Space Camp
Under "Specific person being honored" enter Chris' name.
A visitation will be held Tuesday, June 23, 2020 at 10am at Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home, 700 Timberlane Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32312 with the Celebration of Chris' Life beginning at 11am. For those who are unable to attend in person, the celebration of life will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/meadowwoodmemorialpark/live_videos
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.5