Cari Christine Shanks

Cari lived her life with so much happiness and hope for the future that it is beyond words to describe what it was like to feel her love. Cari had a desire to help others through art and a thirst for adventure that led her to try anything. She enjoying diving, rafting, painting, flying, going to Disney World, or just sitting by a fire roasting marshmallows. Cari was the kind of person that would lend a hand to others with selfless support and love. She loved her dog Bailey and saw great hope for the future in new adventures with her fiancé. Cari showed those around her that it was ok to be silly and smile with a secret love of making faces in photo booths. Her kindness in leaving small notes and gestures to loved ones touched their hearts with joy and gave them strength. She would light up a room with her beauty and smile. We have all lost a part of ourselves and know that she is looking down with hope and love that we each continue with hope and remember her love and share her kindness with the world.

Cari was born in LaGrange, Illinois on March 7th 1984. She joined her parents Steve and Phyllis Shanks and her older brother Steven Jr. at their home in Bolingbrook, Illinois. She was soon followed by two more brothers Kevin and Daniel. Cari, the only girl, learned early on to take care of herself in this house of rough & tumble boys.

Growing up she enjoyed playing tee-ball, flag football and gymnastics. She also practiced her more feminine side by frequently playing dress up, which she also made her brothers participate in from time to time. Cari spent most of her childhood summers forming wonderful memories and kindling her thirst for adventure while vacationing with family on her Great Uncle’s farm in Ohio.

She excelled in grade school and was in Valley View School District’s Challenge program which is an accelerated honors program. She was a member of the National Junior Honor Society and Jane Addams Middle School Band. She also played volley ball while at Jane Addams. Cari attended Joliet Catholic Academy where she continued her academic experience. She played basketball at JCA and also joined the JCA school newspaper, honing her journalism skills. She also discovered her love for theatre and acting by working on several school plays, including a starring role in the female version of The Odd Couple at Bicentennial Park Theatre in Joliet, IL. Cari was a member of the National Honor Society at JCA and graduated in 2002. She attended Emerson College in Boston, MA. There she earned a Bachelor Degree in Theatre Studies with a minor in Television and Film in 2006.

While attending Emerson Cari worked on student scripts and films and appeared in several productions. She also traveled through Europe, attending a semester abroad in Well, Netherlands. She was able to study the arts in Paris, Germany, Czechoslovakia, England, Italy, and Ireland; visiting each as part of her college education. While abroad, she found inventive ways to relay her experiences to family back home. That year she sent home a Christmas card “selfie” taken as she was skydiving over the Swiss Alps. For her final semester, she then traveled to Los Angeles to study and intern with the Heidi Levitt casting agency. During this time she met many well known stars of television and film.

Cari worked a variety of jobs supporting herself while pursuing a career in theatre and film. She had worked on several projects and earned her admittance as a card carrying member of the Screen Actors Guild “SAG/AFTRA”. Always photogenic her pictures were used quite often including a national advertising campaign for Road Rage hair products which is still in use today. She also supported herself while in Los Angeles by working in jobs that always interacted with people which she found most rewarding. She expressed her many talents through many art forms including painting, photography, script editing and cake decorating and her love of cooking and food.

Always an adventurer, Cari moved from Los Angeles to the Tampa, Florida area in early 2013 exploring different career options. She worked for the world renowned Cigar City Brewing becoming a Cicerone Certified Beer Server in craft beer. She moved on recently to managing at Yogurtology where she enjoyed being creative again with food presentation and always had access to her favorite treat, Gummi Bears.

While in Florida Cari met and fell in love with Alexander Hirst. They had many adventures together including whitewater rafting, caving, running and scuba diving. Alex, a pilot, took her on several trips over the state of Florida enriching her life and their experiences together. They enjoyed frequent trips to Disney World, one of the happiest places on earth made even better by their shared experience. She began painting again showing her true talents and expressing the beauty she saw in the world. Cari and Alex became soul mates and engaged in December and were planning an April 2015 wedding. Their plans nearly complete, she was the happiest she ever was.

The love and bond Cari and Alex have for one another is something every person should find. We are eternally grateful she was able to find that.

A memorial service will be held in the Chicagoland area at a future date.

Cari was a strong supporter of women’s breast cancer and participated in many events across the country such as the Avon Breast cancer walk in Long Beach, California, The Beverly Breast Cancer Walk in Chicago, and most recently Breast cancer runs in Safety Harbor, Florida.

Anyone wishing to donate to this cause in memory of Cari can do so at the Beverly Breast cancer page established in honor of Cari Shanks in the attached link.

http://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=1104213&lis=1&kntae1104213=5BD73CB348F34B97A08C6AD30F71E004&supId=358043049