Sonja (Olson) Dewing

I met Christopher in 2003 when we were both placed in Mainz, Germany for a year of study abroad on scholarships from the Federation of German-American Clubs. We were introduced by our dear caretaker and contact person at the university, Frau Ursula Bell-Köhler. Christopher became such a dear friend. He shared his beautiful soul and generous spirit so freely. Before I met Christopher, I’d never been to an opera and I remember him cluing me in about student discount opera tickets and taking me to the Staatstheater Mainz; his passion for music and art was so palpable. He always helped me with my German too. Once he was eating Mohnkuchen at a café and I didn’t know what the German word Mohn meant. He told me Mohn were grubs. I was surprised; I’d never heard of grub cake being a German specialty…when he was done laughing at my shock, he told me it was just poppyseed cake. He was a delightful travel companion to weekend events and excursions put on for exchange students by the German-American Club; Christopher was an expert at making connections and bringing people together. I’ll always have memories of Christopher’s love of delicious food and drink in my head; what a Genießer! During our exchange year in Mainz, I always enjoyed hearing Christopher talk about his dear family and his friends at Dartmouth; his love for them was so profound. I’m grateful that we were able to connect in person several times when I lived in Germany in 2006-2007 again. We could always pick up where we left off. Christopher had a special way of making people feel so precious and loved. It has been several years since I last saw him in Munich where we met for dinner one evening. It was wonderful to catch up and hear how he and Sindre were doing and about his latest career endeavors and successes. I’ll never forget Christopher and the special light he brought to my life. What a gift he was to all of us. Thank you, dear Christopher, for being you. I’ll never forget you.