Ed was a wonderful man. Patient, kind, humorous, and full of gentle wisdom. He helped me spiritually even several years after I graduated. I still cherish those conversations.
Mike Queen
I first met Brother Ed fifty years ago when I was a freshman. We were at Camp Hanes for the pre-school retreat. He was both an encourager and a challenger to me over my four years at Wake. Ten years after graduation, I made the decision to go to seminary on the ‘old campus’ in the town of Wake Forest. To do so I needed the commendation of a Southern Baptist minister.
Since I had grown up in West Virginia as an American Baptist I did not know any. Then I remembered Ed. I called and asked if he remembered me and then for him to write the letter of recommendation for me. After a moment of silence, he said, ‘Yes Mike, I remember you, but all I can recall is your time at the Lambda Chi house. (Ed was our faculty advisor.) So maybe you should write me a letter telling me what God has done in your life these last ten years, and then perhaps I can write a letter for you.’ He and I have laughed over that exchange for more than thirty years. Let it be said of Brother Ed: ‘He was a man of unyielding integrity, expansive faith and one who had time for everyone.’ Thanks be to God for the life and times of Ed Christman.
Mike Queen ’68
Julie Penry
Ed embodied what it means to be a good Christian and his grace continues on in the lives of many. To my surprise, Ed was one of the biggest supporters when we founded Hillel on campus. He taught me to look beyond my own prejudices and see common ground. I was honored to call him a friend.
Stephanie Edwards
Ed Christman was one of the finest human beings I have ever met. When my daughter Amanda, Class of 1997, was diagnosed with leukemia, he called our family weekly with words of encouragement. He comforted all her Wake friends when she died and officiated at her Memorial Service in Wait Chapel.
Thank you Dear Friend.
Stephanie Edwards
Tim Lee
Ed Christman taught me to always be curious and to ask questions because God has given us an opportunity to understand his grace and mercy. He really made a difference in the Wake Forest community and he embodied the Pro Humanitate Spirit. May he always be watching us from above.
Betty Hopper Wynne
Ed Christman started on the road of my journey in ministry. I owe everything to him, as he and I spent hours talking about my spiritual walk and the decisions I would make for the future. Since I majored in music and religion, both of which had classes in the back portion of Wait Chapel where his office was located, I was able to take breaks in his office throughout the day, where he and I would about everything under the sun. So many times, Ed and his wife Jean treated me to meals in their home, especially after they moved from the faculty apartments to a house. I enjoyed time spent with Carolyn and Kim and Jean as well. I treasure every memory I have of him and am so grateful for the wisdom and friendship he poured on me in those college years.
Ed Christman, the mark you made in my life, in the lives of so many other students, and in the world of Wake Forest University is indelible.
Betty Hopper Wynne BA ’75, SEBTS M Div ’78
Sharon Andrews
I had the good fortune of getting to know this remarkable man and his wife Jean a little better through going to school for awhile with his wonderful daughter Kim. Just a little time with her parents made it clear where she got her deep rich talented spirit. I will remember most her Dad’s delightful sense of humor and his pride in her.
Everett Flynn
The one. The only. Rest in peace, brother Ed.
Martha Maness
My daughter, Hannah Maness (’18), and I never had the honor of meeting Chaplain Emeritus Ed Christman. However, we have been blessed by the fruits of his labor of love to Wake Forest University. The legacy he left as ‘chaplain to all’ along with his respect and commitment to the spiritual heritage of the university has impacted and will continue to impact generations of students.
Hannah was selected this year as one of the recipients of the Poteat scholarship. The Wake Forest Ministerial Council established the William Louis Poteat Scholarship for North Carolina Baptist students in honor of Christman and his wife, Jean, in 1998. Praise God for the faithfulness of this servant of Christ.
Cliff Campbell
I first met you, Brother Ed, in the Spring semester of 1978, when I was a freshman and an Associate Member of Lambda Chi Alpha. It was during my initiation into the fraternity in the wee hours of the morning. I had just screwed up and ruined the fraternity, and I remember you getting in my face and saying, “Hey, Tex, do I have to draw you a #!%#@ roadmap?” I thought I was going to be run out of town! Quickly though, the lessons of forgiveness and understanding that you and the fraternity represented became evident. We weren’t the best behaved group of young men at Wake, but you embraced us, protected us, mentored us, and helped to shape us into the responsible, successful and loving bunch that we are today. Your presence in my life will remain.
Yours in ZAX,
Cliff “Tex” Campbell ’81
David Levy
If it is possible for a Jew to have his pastor, Ed was it. If it was possible for a devout Christian to have his rabbi, it was I. This is how Ed and I often referred to each other. I remember with fondness our coaching sessions on songs for “HMS Pinafore” and “Guys and Dolls.” As his conductor when he played Arvide Abernathy in the latter, I say with love, “More I cannot wish you” than the joy you shared. I will miss our breakfast outings and walks together at HELPS. Ed was one of the best men I’ve ever known. As the Hebrew prayer says, “May he be bound up for life eternal under God’s sheltering wing. And let us all say, “Amen.”
Chris Pratapas
Mr. Christman was my freshman advisor and made an immediate impact on me when I came to Wake Forest. His calm presence and the clear direction he provided is something I will always remember. He didn’t always tell you what you wanted to hear or even give you the answer to a problem, but he had the ability to guide you down the right path. He inspired you to make the right choices and to stretch your talents.
We have lost a great leader and a man who has touched so many lives. I am blessed to have known him and gained from his wisdom and insight.
Chris Pratapas
WFU 1992
John M Garrity
Ed had a profound impact on me as a young freshman at Wake. He taught me not to judge others by their appearances and to value everyone as a human being. His lessons have remained with me since then.
John Garrity – Class of 1968
Chris Irwin
Ed’s kindness, intentionality, and intellectual and spiritual depth reminded me of our calling to love both God and people with every aspect of our lives — heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Dave Felman
Chaplain Christman so exemplified the spirit of friendship, kindness, engagement, respect, and gentle faith that is the core of Wake Forest. I very distinctly remember him greeting me as a 17-year old long-haired freshman at Wake in 1975, and then knowing my name and being so interested in how I was doing every single time I saw him on campus and when I returned to visit. Rest in peace, Ed Christman.
Dave Felman ’75
Charles H. Duckett, MD
Even during my years at Wake Forest College in the early 1950s, Ed Christman was a standard for Pro Humanitate. His presence will be missed, but what he has meant to so many cannot be forgotten. Go in Peace, faithful servant.
Charles H. Duckett – BS 1954, MD 1957
Glenn Hurlbert ’84
Dear Ed,
God only knows if you can read this, but I hope so. I want to thank you for saving me one night. One evening, toward the end of my first semester at Wake, I got news of the killing of an uncle who had profoundly inspired me. I spent most of the night wandering aimlessly through the campus fields and woods, mentally and spiritually lost. When I happened upon your door around 3 or 4 in the morning, you woke up and took me in with no questions asked. It was a while before I could speak about it, and you let me stay on your couch for two nights. You helped me realize that I needed to go home for some time, which I did for a week, and that I could take a few incompletes in order to stay in school. As a university professor for the past 25 years, I have come across many students who have entered my office with an expression of desperation, and I have always kept in my heart and mind your example of compassion, understanding, comfort, and reassurance as a model to live up to. You may have left us physically, but you live in a great many of us forever.
Jim Blackburn
I knew Ed almost my entire life…but i knew hm best in the 60’s at Wake Forest. t pre school retreats, talks in his office, at weddings, Ed was simply as good a friend as anyone could have. A visit wo Wake Forest is not possible, then or even now, without thinking of Ed. It is tough to realize he is gone, but as someone else wrote, he is probably reading this just now.
Jim Blackburn
Chris Barnes
In his love for the school and the students, and in his desire to see the students mature in the wholeness of their beings, Ed Christman was Wake Forest. Chris Barnes, class of ‘71
Steve Martin,’65
I can only add the word Amen to the eloquent remembrances expressed above.
The poet said ” To live on in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die.”
Brother Ed lives on in my heart.
Ed was a wonderful man. Patient, kind, humorous, and full of gentle wisdom. He helped me spiritually even several years after I graduated. I still cherish those conversations.
I first met Brother Ed fifty years ago when I was a freshman. We were at Camp Hanes for the pre-school retreat. He was both an encourager and a challenger to me over my four years at Wake. Ten years after graduation, I made the decision to go to seminary on the ‘old campus’ in the town of Wake Forest. To do so I needed the commendation of a Southern Baptist minister.
Since I had grown up in West Virginia as an American Baptist I did not know any. Then I remembered Ed. I called and asked if he remembered me and then for him to write the letter of recommendation for me. After a moment of silence, he said, ‘Yes Mike, I remember you, but all I can recall is your time at the Lambda Chi house. (Ed was our faculty advisor.) So maybe you should write me a letter telling me what God has done in your life these last ten years, and then perhaps I can write a letter for you.’ He and I have laughed over that exchange for more than thirty years. Let it be said of Brother Ed: ‘He was a man of unyielding integrity, expansive faith and one who had time for everyone.’ Thanks be to God for the life and times of Ed Christman.
Mike Queen ’68
Ed embodied what it means to be a good Christian and his grace continues on in the lives of many. To my surprise, Ed was one of the biggest supporters when we founded Hillel on campus. He taught me to look beyond my own prejudices and see common ground. I was honored to call him a friend.
Ed Christman was one of the finest human beings I have ever met. When my daughter Amanda, Class of 1997, was diagnosed with leukemia, he called our family weekly with words of encouragement. He comforted all her Wake friends when she died and officiated at her Memorial Service in Wait Chapel.
Thank you Dear Friend.
Stephanie Edwards
Ed Christman taught me to always be curious and to ask questions because God has given us an opportunity to understand his grace and mercy. He really made a difference in the Wake Forest community and he embodied the Pro Humanitate Spirit. May he always be watching us from above.
Ed Christman started on the road of my journey in ministry. I owe everything to him, as he and I spent hours talking about my spiritual walk and the decisions I would make for the future. Since I majored in music and religion, both of which had classes in the back portion of Wait Chapel where his office was located, I was able to take breaks in his office throughout the day, where he and I would about everything under the sun. So many times, Ed and his wife Jean treated me to meals in their home, especially after they moved from the faculty apartments to a house. I enjoyed time spent with Carolyn and Kim and Jean as well. I treasure every memory I have of him and am so grateful for the wisdom and friendship he poured on me in those college years.
Ed Christman, the mark you made in my life, in the lives of so many other students, and in the world of Wake Forest University is indelible.
Betty Hopper Wynne BA ’75, SEBTS M Div ’78
I had the good fortune of getting to know this remarkable man and his wife Jean a little better through going to school for awhile with his wonderful daughter Kim. Just a little time with her parents made it clear where she got her deep rich talented spirit. I will remember most her Dad’s delightful sense of humor and his pride in her.
The one. The only. Rest in peace, brother Ed.
My daughter, Hannah Maness (’18), and I never had the honor of meeting Chaplain Emeritus Ed Christman. However, we have been blessed by the fruits of his labor of love to Wake Forest University. The legacy he left as ‘chaplain to all’ along with his respect and commitment to the spiritual heritage of the university has impacted and will continue to impact generations of students.
Hannah was selected this year as one of the recipients of the Poteat scholarship. The Wake Forest Ministerial Council established the William Louis Poteat Scholarship for North Carolina Baptist students in honor of Christman and his wife, Jean, in 1998. Praise God for the faithfulness of this servant of Christ.
I first met you, Brother Ed, in the Spring semester of 1978, when I was a freshman and an Associate Member of Lambda Chi Alpha. It was during my initiation into the fraternity in the wee hours of the morning. I had just screwed up and ruined the fraternity, and I remember you getting in my face and saying, “Hey, Tex, do I have to draw you a #!%#@ roadmap?” I thought I was going to be run out of town! Quickly though, the lessons of forgiveness and understanding that you and the fraternity represented became evident. We weren’t the best behaved group of young men at Wake, but you embraced us, protected us, mentored us, and helped to shape us into the responsible, successful and loving bunch that we are today. Your presence in my life will remain.
Yours in ZAX,
Cliff “Tex” Campbell ’81
If it is possible for a Jew to have his pastor, Ed was it. If it was possible for a devout Christian to have his rabbi, it was I. This is how Ed and I often referred to each other. I remember with fondness our coaching sessions on songs for “HMS Pinafore” and “Guys and Dolls.” As his conductor when he played Arvide Abernathy in the latter, I say with love, “More I cannot wish you” than the joy you shared. I will miss our breakfast outings and walks together at HELPS. Ed was one of the best men I’ve ever known. As the Hebrew prayer says, “May he be bound up for life eternal under God’s sheltering wing. And let us all say, “Amen.”
Mr. Christman was my freshman advisor and made an immediate impact on me when I came to Wake Forest. His calm presence and the clear direction he provided is something I will always remember. He didn’t always tell you what you wanted to hear or even give you the answer to a problem, but he had the ability to guide you down the right path. He inspired you to make the right choices and to stretch your talents.
We have lost a great leader and a man who has touched so many lives. I am blessed to have known him and gained from his wisdom and insight.
Chris Pratapas
WFU 1992
Ed had a profound impact on me as a young freshman at Wake. He taught me not to judge others by their appearances and to value everyone as a human being. His lessons have remained with me since then.
John Garrity – Class of 1968
Ed’s kindness, intentionality, and intellectual and spiritual depth reminded me of our calling to love both God and people with every aspect of our lives — heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Chaplain Christman so exemplified the spirit of friendship, kindness, engagement, respect, and gentle faith that is the core of Wake Forest. I very distinctly remember him greeting me as a 17-year old long-haired freshman at Wake in 1975, and then knowing my name and being so interested in how I was doing every single time I saw him on campus and when I returned to visit. Rest in peace, Ed Christman.
Dave Felman ’75
Even during my years at Wake Forest College in the early 1950s, Ed Christman was a standard for Pro Humanitate. His presence will be missed, but what he has meant to so many cannot be forgotten. Go in Peace, faithful servant.
Charles H. Duckett – BS 1954, MD 1957
Dear Ed,
God only knows if you can read this, but I hope so. I want to thank you for saving me one night. One evening, toward the end of my first semester at Wake, I got news of the killing of an uncle who had profoundly inspired me. I spent most of the night wandering aimlessly through the campus fields and woods, mentally and spiritually lost. When I happened upon your door around 3 or 4 in the morning, you woke up and took me in with no questions asked. It was a while before I could speak about it, and you let me stay on your couch for two nights. You helped me realize that I needed to go home for some time, which I did for a week, and that I could take a few incompletes in order to stay in school. As a university professor for the past 25 years, I have come across many students who have entered my office with an expression of desperation, and I have always kept in my heart and mind your example of compassion, understanding, comfort, and reassurance as a model to live up to. You may have left us physically, but you live in a great many of us forever.
I knew Ed almost my entire life…but i knew hm best in the 60’s at Wake Forest. t pre school retreats, talks in his office, at weddings, Ed was simply as good a friend as anyone could have. A visit wo Wake Forest is not possible, then or even now, without thinking of Ed. It is tough to realize he is gone, but as someone else wrote, he is probably reading this just now.
Jim Blackburn
In his love for the school and the students, and in his desire to see the students mature in the wholeness of their beings, Ed Christman was Wake Forest. Chris Barnes, class of ‘71
I can only add the word Amen to the eloquent remembrances expressed above.
The poet said ” To live on in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die.”
Brother Ed lives on in my heart.