Chris James Heinsen

Chris James Heinsen of Lockwood, Calif., passed away last week at the age of 68 from pancreatic cancer. Chris was born to Lorraine and George Heinsen in Lockwood. Chris earned his MBA at Cal Poly in 1983. While there, he met Carol Brune, his wife of 40 years. The couple had three children: Alice, George, and Emily.

Chris loved spending time with family and friends. Some of his favorite memories were a cross country road trip, camping trips, traveling to Europe, and visiting family in Pennsylvania. He was skilled at painting and sketching, loved reading, cooking, singing, and collecting rocks.

He enjoyed spending time with his brother Butch at their family mobile home park and maintaining the family ranch.

Volunteering was very important to Chris; he was a member of the San Antonio School Board for eight years, a Brownie Leader and a Cub Scout Leader. He was an Officer in the Army Reserves for 14 years.

He moved his family back to the family ranch in 1986. He worked at Fort Hunter Liggett, then at Basic Vegetable Products in King City. He worked at AT&T as a Business Analyst until his retirement in 2016.

Chris is survived by his loving wife, Carol; his children, Alice, George; Emily and her husband Tyler. Other survivors are his brother, Milton (Butch) Heinsen; nephew, Darran and wife Charlie; niece, Justine and husband Matt; and his much-loved sister Judy's family in Pennsylvania and Montana.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lockwood Community Center, P.O. Box 222, Lockwood, CA 93932.

Published in King City Rustler · May 23, 2023