Our conscience, our inspiration, our friend, our guide: Ed was one of the bravest persons I’ve ever known. He was ever the embodiment of Emerson: “Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet.” He made us think, but so gently did he wrap us in his care.
Harold Holmes
Dear Jean,
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with Brother Ed for almost 20 years in the Division of Student Life. Having that intimate a relationship afforded me the opportunity to see The Man in every aspect of his life, both personal, official and spiritual.
My sincerest condolences to you and the family on the occasion of Ed’s passing. We all are very confident that he is in his Heavenly Home, for he has truly earned that privilege.
I will most assuredly be at the service on December 30th.
Peace
Harold Holmes
Associate VP & Dean of Student Services Emeritus
Betsy Chapman ’92, MA’94
Ed Christman was a legend at Wake Forest. His Orientation speech – where he named the names of so many people in each year’s freshman class – was nothing short of extraordinary. He stood as one of the great men of Wake Forest – alongside other great men like Ed Wilson and Bill Starling. He was kind to all and represented the very best in the Pro Humanitate spirit. He and his beloved wife Jean would surprise us in the office sometimes, bearing gifts of outstanding homemade fudge and always with his wonderful smile. My prayers go to Jean and their children. Brother Ed, you will be missed.
Allan Louden
Always understated and yet a giant in Wake’s community and communal life. History will treat you with equal kindness to the grace you shared with our campus. A life worth living and lovely shared.
Howard shields
Ed was a great neighbor and close friend for 57 years. Our children grew up together and Ed sat with me at the hospital when my daughter Carolyn was born. Anne Mercer and I attended and benefited greatly from Ed’s Sunday School class.
He is greatly missed.
With much love and best wishes
Howard
Mary Bartholomew
He leaves a lot behind to be remembered! My first memory is living in the building next to him in the Wake Forest faculty apartments about 45 years ago and how wonderful he was to the children. What a wonderful person he was. The family is in my thoughts and prayers as you go through the process of mourning. He now has gone to his Maker for his Heavenly reward. Wake Forest has lost another great and wonderful friend.
Peace be with you,
Mary Bartholomew
Michael Huie
Ed Christman was a beautiful man. James Dodding says that each time he returned to Wake Forest he asked Ed how was the sin at WFU. Ed would always reply “Flourishing, brother, flourishing.” His sense of humor and steadfast spirit was inspirational. So many great memories, laughs, touching moments with Chaplain Christman. He will be dearly missed.
Harriet Chapman
We are called to be disciples of Christ on earth, but I know of no human being who has better embodied that Commission from the Lord than University Chaplain and Wake Forest Alumnus Edgar D. Christman. Few human beings were more aptly named, yet Chaplain Christman was not some pious do-gooder, or self-righteous preacher. He was a man in full — a prankster in his younger (and older) days, filled with humor and empathy…which led him to an incredible understanding of the human heart and mind in all their goodness and darkness. He lived a life of outreach and letters despite visual limitations that would have broken or embittered many. Ed Christman loved God by loving other human beings, by approaching everyone he met “where they were” in life instead of where he or some others’ expectation might “want them to be,” and by demonstrating in deeds and his words — over and over again, for generations of Wake Forest students, faculty, parents and friends — that Grace and Love that surpasses all understanding. He was the voice on the phone for me assuring me all the support that would be possible for an incoming freshman whose father lay comatose. And he was the deliverer of news that no child of a beloved parent ever wants to hear. He was in large part the reason I consider my years at Wake Forest great ones, and formative in ways that move well beyond academics. And his friendship, wise counsel, and ways of forthrightly exploring tough theological issues that still left one more confident in one’s faith are, fortunately, unforgettable. God bless the soul of Chaplain Christman — perhaps somehow appropriately brought back Home on the eve on which we celebrate Christ’s birth — and God bless his family.
Mark Simmons
I first met Ed at Freshman Orientation up at Camp Hanes in 1976. One night we sat on the porch waiting for the dinner bell and it was reported that the broccoli was not yet done. Ed made some crack about waiting on the broccoli and thereafter, every time I saw him I would yell, “Hey Ed, is the broccoli done yet?” It became a running joke and I was known as “The Broccoli Kid” forevermore. Recently I ran into him at Mama Zoe’s, a local restaurant. I walked up and said “Ed, do you remember The Broccoli Kid?” He thought a moment and then it came back to him after all these years. Glad I got to see him again. My condolences to the family. He was a great man and will be missed by all. Blessings and peace.
Wendy Faulkner
Ed was my favorite person from my years at Wake Forest. From him throwing snowballs at me on the quad to telling anti-Carolina jokes, he was so funny. And the name speech will forever live on. He was an incredible human being and the world is a sadder place without him. Wendy Class of ’92.
CB Hartness ’02
Chaplain Christman,
-In my time you embodied to us youngsters an example of wisdom, love, inquisitiveness, and patience. Your positive aura provided us a spiritual guidance and exhibited the manner in which we all should engage one another. Your personality attributes defined the motto – Pro Humanitate – of the very university you served. One might even say that your physical attributes uncannily resembled that of the university’s mascot – the Deacon. Your addition to the Wake Forest community and to the thousands of lives you positively affected is immeasurable. And how fitting it is that you, Christman, the most aptly named individual I have met, transcend the physical to go home to meet the Maker at Christmastime. Well done, sir. Thanks for the timeless lessons, spoken and unspoken.
Andy Blackmun
A few quick stories about Ed: He once told me that he confronted someone making racist comments by saying “Since I’m the whitest man you’ll ever meet, don’t you think you should pay more attention to what I’m saying?”. He also claimed to be the founding member of the ABC’s – the Albino Booster Club.
After I worked in W VA one summer during a coal miner’s strike, I went with him and Jean in their tiny Subaru station wagon for a weekend to visit a stiker’s camp. Jean was tired on the way home, so I drove their car while Ed tried to find a radio station. Always the baseball fan, he leaned as close as he could to the radio dial to see the numbers, pounding on the dash and gleefully yelling “Scores! I need scores!”
He took time to meet with me several times as I struggled to shift into college life. His support and affirmation were a huge help to me. Thanks and blessings to you, brother Ed.
Andy Blackmun, WFU ’92.
Andrew Snorton
Prayers and condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Ed Christman. He is a kind hearted and spirited man, as well as an unbelievably consistent good steward to all he is able to engage with. Again, his kindness, sincerity, and kind spirit will be missed physically, but will be ever-present based on the many people he touched within and beyond the Wake Foresr community.
Billy Hamilton
I remember writing once before about Ed, maybe 20 years ago. I equated him to one of those saints who stood out in the wilderness shouting truth, who subsist on bugs and acorns, and whose voices seem to come, loudly, from somewhere deep within, which really means “from somewhere else above.”
I wish I could re-quote myself but the feeling lasted until the end.
My other memory is of the night I decided to baptize our children while Cindy was out of town. She wasn’t really opposed to the idea but she was out of town and so young Sage and John said “Dad, have we been baptized?” I said “No, but I can do it right now.” They were game, so I took a glass of water, put it on the mantelpiece, and baptized them both in the best way I could think of.
Cindy got home and insisted that “it doesn’t count.” We agreed to go to Ed for the final ruling on the issue, and Ed said the best possible answer: “If you think it counts, it does!”
With love, Billy
David Julius Ford, Jr.
Ed was a dear mentor, friend, support, guide, spiritual father, and adviser. I would not have gotten through my time at Wake Forest had he not been there for me. He had a gentle spirit and a powerful testimony. May he rest in paradise in the loving arms of our Lord and Savior. Until we meet again.
Dr. David Julius Ford, Jr., WFU BA ’98, MA ’11
Susan Borwick
I’ve learned that we’re in this world to celebrate the God who dwells within us and one another. Although Ed never uttered those words to me, he lived them every day–and will continue to do so in the lives of all of us touched by this humble, humorous, loving, lovable saint.
Take care, Jean. We know your equal, quiet role in this team of life-changers, and are blessed by it. Heartfelt blessings to the girls as well.
Jay Banks
Ed Christman was a giant in my family’s life from 1955 on. It is hard to imagine him not being here physically beside Jean. The six of us visited Jean and Ed in NY, when we were heading overseas in 1959. We all had Chinese take-out in a typically sized New York City apartment! A first for the three of us boys.
He was our minister when my wife and I married on December 23rd, also his and Jean’s anniversary day. We exchanged Christmas cards every year, always counting the years we had been married so they would know: 43 as of yesterday.
Ed and Jean sat with my father as his body was dying, yet his mind- brilliant, focused and sharp with humor. It was a good afternoon for them all. Ed preached at my father’s funeral, and then nine years later, both he and Mac Bryan preached at my mother’s funeral. Pen and Catherine loved and respected Ed and how he lived his life.
Ed Christman was really our family’s minister and my parents friend, throughout those years….the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, ’80’s and on. He helped you as a Brother in triumph and tragedy. May God bless him and comfort Jean, Carolyn and Kimberly.
Jay Banks ’74 ’76
Betsy Taylor
Nothing made my day more than seeing Brother Ed walking toward me on the quad and hearing his greeting of, “Hello, Sister!” He knew how to make you feel special, because when you were with him, he gave you his fullest attention, always with that Ed Christman twinkle in his eye. Ed not only helped me to lose my suspicion of religion but introduced me to the many meanings of faith through words and acts that I could hear and come to love. When I think of him, I am filled with so many feelings: gratitude, great fondness, delight, and deep respect and appreciation. His courage and integrity have inspired me many times. Though I have been away from Wake Forest for some time now, I always feel that Ed is with me, as of course he will be in our hearts forever. To Jean, Carolyn, and Kim, know that we are holding you close and join you as you are surely already missing him. And to Brother Ed – thank you for the exquisite pleasure of getting to share some time on this earth with you. You brought meaning and wonder to my life, and I am so grateful for knowing you!
Michael Sinclair
Ed was, quite simply, the best of men. Sometimes words do not suffice to describe the person we knew, respected, and loved.
Katie Page
I met Brother Ed four years ago during my freshman year at Wake, during dinner time at BSU’s weekly Horizons meeting. I feel truly honored to have known him for all of my four years at my home away from home, because he is somewhat of a legendary figure at Wake Forest. He would always shake his finger at me when I told him I was a senior and had yet to visit the old Wake Forest campus in Wake Forest, NC, and to this day I have yet to go. But Brother Ed, I promise I will!
It brings me joy to know that you will be spending Christmas morning with Jesus this year.
Our conscience, our inspiration, our friend, our guide: Ed was one of the bravest persons I’ve ever known. He was ever the embodiment of Emerson: “Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet.” He made us think, but so gently did he wrap us in his care.
Dear Jean,
I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with Brother Ed for almost 20 years in the Division of Student Life. Having that intimate a relationship afforded me the opportunity to see The Man in every aspect of his life, both personal, official and spiritual.
My sincerest condolences to you and the family on the occasion of Ed’s passing. We all are very confident that he is in his Heavenly Home, for he has truly earned that privilege.
I will most assuredly be at the service on December 30th.
Peace
Harold Holmes
Associate VP & Dean of Student Services Emeritus
Ed Christman was a legend at Wake Forest. His Orientation speech – where he named the names of so many people in each year’s freshman class – was nothing short of extraordinary. He stood as one of the great men of Wake Forest – alongside other great men like Ed Wilson and Bill Starling. He was kind to all and represented the very best in the Pro Humanitate spirit. He and his beloved wife Jean would surprise us in the office sometimes, bearing gifts of outstanding homemade fudge and always with his wonderful smile. My prayers go to Jean and their children. Brother Ed, you will be missed.
Always understated and yet a giant in Wake’s community and communal life. History will treat you with equal kindness to the grace you shared with our campus. A life worth living and lovely shared.
Ed was a great neighbor and close friend for 57 years. Our children grew up together and Ed sat with me at the hospital when my daughter Carolyn was born. Anne Mercer and I attended and benefited greatly from Ed’s Sunday School class.
He is greatly missed.
With much love and best wishes
Howard
He leaves a lot behind to be remembered! My first memory is living in the building next to him in the Wake Forest faculty apartments about 45 years ago and how wonderful he was to the children. What a wonderful person he was. The family is in my thoughts and prayers as you go through the process of mourning. He now has gone to his Maker for his Heavenly reward. Wake Forest has lost another great and wonderful friend.
Peace be with you,
Mary Bartholomew
Ed Christman was a beautiful man. James Dodding says that each time he returned to Wake Forest he asked Ed how was the sin at WFU. Ed would always reply “Flourishing, brother, flourishing.” His sense of humor and steadfast spirit was inspirational. So many great memories, laughs, touching moments with Chaplain Christman. He will be dearly missed.
We are called to be disciples of Christ on earth, but I know of no human being who has better embodied that Commission from the Lord than University Chaplain and Wake Forest Alumnus Edgar D. Christman. Few human beings were more aptly named, yet Chaplain Christman was not some pious do-gooder, or self-righteous preacher. He was a man in full — a prankster in his younger (and older) days, filled with humor and empathy…which led him to an incredible understanding of the human heart and mind in all their goodness and darkness. He lived a life of outreach and letters despite visual limitations that would have broken or embittered many. Ed Christman loved God by loving other human beings, by approaching everyone he met “where they were” in life instead of where he or some others’ expectation might “want them to be,” and by demonstrating in deeds and his words — over and over again, for generations of Wake Forest students, faculty, parents and friends — that Grace and Love that surpasses all understanding. He was the voice on the phone for me assuring me all the support that would be possible for an incoming freshman whose father lay comatose. And he was the deliverer of news that no child of a beloved parent ever wants to hear. He was in large part the reason I consider my years at Wake Forest great ones, and formative in ways that move well beyond academics. And his friendship, wise counsel, and ways of forthrightly exploring tough theological issues that still left one more confident in one’s faith are, fortunately, unforgettable. God bless the soul of Chaplain Christman — perhaps somehow appropriately brought back Home on the eve on which we celebrate Christ’s birth — and God bless his family.
I first met Ed at Freshman Orientation up at Camp Hanes in 1976. One night we sat on the porch waiting for the dinner bell and it was reported that the broccoli was not yet done. Ed made some crack about waiting on the broccoli and thereafter, every time I saw him I would yell, “Hey Ed, is the broccoli done yet?” It became a running joke and I was known as “The Broccoli Kid” forevermore. Recently I ran into him at Mama Zoe’s, a local restaurant. I walked up and said “Ed, do you remember The Broccoli Kid?” He thought a moment and then it came back to him after all these years. Glad I got to see him again. My condolences to the family. He was a great man and will be missed by all. Blessings and peace.
Ed was my favorite person from my years at Wake Forest. From him throwing snowballs at me on the quad to telling anti-Carolina jokes, he was so funny. And the name speech will forever live on. He was an incredible human being and the world is a sadder place without him. Wendy Class of ’92.
Chaplain Christman,
-In my time you embodied to us youngsters an example of wisdom, love, inquisitiveness, and patience. Your positive aura provided us a spiritual guidance and exhibited the manner in which we all should engage one another. Your personality attributes defined the motto – Pro Humanitate – of the very university you served. One might even say that your physical attributes uncannily resembled that of the university’s mascot – the Deacon. Your addition to the Wake Forest community and to the thousands of lives you positively affected is immeasurable. And how fitting it is that you, Christman, the most aptly named individual I have met, transcend the physical to go home to meet the Maker at Christmastime. Well done, sir. Thanks for the timeless lessons, spoken and unspoken.
A few quick stories about Ed: He once told me that he confronted someone making racist comments by saying “Since I’m the whitest man you’ll ever meet, don’t you think you should pay more attention to what I’m saying?”. He also claimed to be the founding member of the ABC’s – the Albino Booster Club.
After I worked in W VA one summer during a coal miner’s strike, I went with him and Jean in their tiny Subaru station wagon for a weekend to visit a stiker’s camp. Jean was tired on the way home, so I drove their car while Ed tried to find a radio station. Always the baseball fan, he leaned as close as he could to the radio dial to see the numbers, pounding on the dash and gleefully yelling “Scores! I need scores!”
He took time to meet with me several times as I struggled to shift into college life. His support and affirmation were a huge help to me. Thanks and blessings to you, brother Ed.
Andy Blackmun, WFU ’92.
Prayers and condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of Ed Christman. He is a kind hearted and spirited man, as well as an unbelievably consistent good steward to all he is able to engage with. Again, his kindness, sincerity, and kind spirit will be missed physically, but will be ever-present based on the many people he touched within and beyond the Wake Foresr community.
I remember writing once before about Ed, maybe 20 years ago. I equated him to one of those saints who stood out in the wilderness shouting truth, who subsist on bugs and acorns, and whose voices seem to come, loudly, from somewhere deep within, which really means “from somewhere else above.”
I wish I could re-quote myself but the feeling lasted until the end.
My other memory is of the night I decided to baptize our children while Cindy was out of town. She wasn’t really opposed to the idea but she was out of town and so young Sage and John said “Dad, have we been baptized?” I said “No, but I can do it right now.” They were game, so I took a glass of water, put it on the mantelpiece, and baptized them both in the best way I could think of.
Cindy got home and insisted that “it doesn’t count.” We agreed to go to Ed for the final ruling on the issue, and Ed said the best possible answer: “If you think it counts, it does!”
With love, Billy
Ed was a dear mentor, friend, support, guide, spiritual father, and adviser. I would not have gotten through my time at Wake Forest had he not been there for me. He had a gentle spirit and a powerful testimony. May he rest in paradise in the loving arms of our Lord and Savior. Until we meet again.
Dr. David Julius Ford, Jr., WFU BA ’98, MA ’11
I’ve learned that we’re in this world to celebrate the God who dwells within us and one another. Although Ed never uttered those words to me, he lived them every day–and will continue to do so in the lives of all of us touched by this humble, humorous, loving, lovable saint.
Take care, Jean. We know your equal, quiet role in this team of life-changers, and are blessed by it. Heartfelt blessings to the girls as well.
Ed Christman was a giant in my family’s life from 1955 on. It is hard to imagine him not being here physically beside Jean. The six of us visited Jean and Ed in NY, when we were heading overseas in 1959. We all had Chinese take-out in a typically sized New York City apartment! A first for the three of us boys.
He was our minister when my wife and I married on December 23rd, also his and Jean’s anniversary day. We exchanged Christmas cards every year, always counting the years we had been married so they would know: 43 as of yesterday.
Ed and Jean sat with my father as his body was dying, yet his mind- brilliant, focused and sharp with humor. It was a good afternoon for them all. Ed preached at my father’s funeral, and then nine years later, both he and Mac Bryan preached at my mother’s funeral. Pen and Catherine loved and respected Ed and how he lived his life.
Ed Christman was really our family’s minister and my parents friend, throughout those years….the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, ’80’s and on. He helped you as a Brother in triumph and tragedy. May God bless him and comfort Jean, Carolyn and Kimberly.
Jay Banks ’74 ’76
Nothing made my day more than seeing Brother Ed walking toward me on the quad and hearing his greeting of, “Hello, Sister!” He knew how to make you feel special, because when you were with him, he gave you his fullest attention, always with that Ed Christman twinkle in his eye. Ed not only helped me to lose my suspicion of religion but introduced me to the many meanings of faith through words and acts that I could hear and come to love. When I think of him, I am filled with so many feelings: gratitude, great fondness, delight, and deep respect and appreciation. His courage and integrity have inspired me many times. Though I have been away from Wake Forest for some time now, I always feel that Ed is with me, as of course he will be in our hearts forever. To Jean, Carolyn, and Kim, know that we are holding you close and join you as you are surely already missing him. And to Brother Ed – thank you for the exquisite pleasure of getting to share some time on this earth with you. You brought meaning and wonder to my life, and I am so grateful for knowing you!
Ed was, quite simply, the best of men. Sometimes words do not suffice to describe the person we knew, respected, and loved.
I met Brother Ed four years ago during my freshman year at Wake, during dinner time at BSU’s weekly Horizons meeting. I feel truly honored to have known him for all of my four years at my home away from home, because he is somewhat of a legendary figure at Wake Forest. He would always shake his finger at me when I told him I was a senior and had yet to visit the old Wake Forest campus in Wake Forest, NC, and to this day I have yet to go. But Brother Ed, I promise I will!
It brings me joy to know that you will be spending Christmas morning with Jesus this year.