Chris Luehrs

Obituary



Christiane Wade Luehrs, 81, passed away quietly in her sleep at her home on July 14, 2022. She was born September 30, 1940, to Reynolds W. Wade, M.D., and Theodora Pomeranz Wade in Toledo, Ohio, and grew up near the shores of the Great Lakes. She graduated from Valparaiso University, earned a Master's Degree in History from Washington University in St. Louis, and received a Master's Degree in English from Fort Hays State University. At Washington University she met Robert Luehrs, a fellow student. It was his good fortune to marry her in 1965. The couple moved to Hays in 1968 so that Robert could pursue a career as a Professor of History at FHSU.

Chris had the attributes of a Renaissance woman. She was a perceptive lady of wit, culture, talent, grace, and creativity. She was also devoted to her family and friends. At various times she worked as an assistant for professors and physicians, was office manager for the Campus Ecumenical Center, and ran her own catering business. Primarily, Chris was an educator, as a high school history teacher in St. Louis and, for 15 years, as an Instructor of English at FHSU, retiring in 2006. She published a number of articles on mystery authors who use historical settings for their novels.

She liked shopping for Victorian oddities, reading British detective stories, collecting teddy bears, preparing various ethnic foods, and being hostess at elaborate parties and dinners. She enjoyed mythology and folklore, especially the tales attached to Halloween. With her husband, she designed a Halloween festival at FHSU in the 1970s and 1980s and subsequent Halloween displays in the university's library until last year, quitting not because of a lack of ideas but because of a lack of energy. Chris held offices in Eastern Star and volunteered at the Hays Arts Council. She served as a lay reader and head of the Altar Guild for St. Michael's Episcopal Church. She played the piano and organ for pleasure. As befit a Renaissance woman, she helped organize the university's annual Renaissance Christmas celebration, the Madrigal Dinner, for fifteen years, playing the roles of Lady of the Manor for five years and the Queen of England twice.

Survivors include her husband, Robert; her daughter, Rebecca Johnson of Nowata, Oklahoma; her son-in-law, Patrick Johnson; her granddaughter, Roslin Johnson; her brother, E. Nicholas Wade of Aurora, Illinois; and her cousin, Martha Ellison of Alexandria, Virginia.

Funeral services celebrating Chris' life will be 11:00 AM Saturday, October 15, 2022 at St. Michael's Episcopal Church 2900 Canal Blvd with Vicar Rev. Shay Craig officiating.

If desired, memorials may be made to Forsyth Library at FHSU, St. Michael's Episcopal Church, or the Humane Society of the High Plains.

Services in care of Brock's-Keithley Funeral Chapel and Crematory, 2509 Vine Street Hays, Kansas 67601.

Condolences may be left by guest book at www.keithleyfuneralchapels.com

















Services







Funeral Service Saturday

October 15, 2022

11:00 AM

St. Michaels

walnut

Hays, KS 67601