Ed was one of the first people that welcomed me to Wake Forest. As a freshman I attended the Retreat prior to starting my freshman year. It was a great place for me to make friends and begin my journey at Wake Forest. I was a day student when I first started so this was very important to me. I became active in BSU and Ed was always there to welcome me and make me feel at home.
After graduation I had the opportunity to participate in Wake Forest Theatre on the Main Stage now named for Dr. Harold Tedford. I was in Guys and Dolls directed by James Dodding of England. Ed was in that play and so was Kim his daughter. She taught me how to tap dance.
It was another great experience of community at Wake Forest.
Class of 1977
Sherrill Brinkley
Ed “Christ-man” is a WFU legend. In our mind’s eye his portrait hangs among the University’s greatest. Long after the white hair, contagious laugh, and unbounded enthusiasm have faded his influence will continue to radiate. The many wonderful words in this guestbook attest to that. He first crossed my path in a casual way during a BSU function at NC State in 1955. That image of boundless energy and white hair stuck with me until it was re-kindled in the early 90’s as my wife, Susan ’62, became deeply involved with the WF Birthplace Society. Ed loved the old campus and was a source of needed encouragement as Susan struggled to garner support for the museum in old W.F. His calls were always for, “Sister Brinkley” but never without a disarming question, story, or comment for me. Here is an NC State guy who came to love Ed and Jean just as do all you WF folks. While Ed deserves the accolades, Jean has been his rock, his right arm, and yes, his eyes. I strongly suspect that she and Ed would have us attend the memorial service filled with laughter, joy, and probably a few jokes!
Sherrill Brinkley
James L. Powell (Jimmy)
Ed Christman changed my life. I was a Junior when Ed sat in my Kappa Alpha dorm room and said, “BSU needs you. Campus politics can wait.” I was President of my Freshman Class and I was smitten from then on. Something in Ed’s voice and prayer grabbed me. I became deeply involved in WFU BSU. Later that year I was elected President of the North Carolina BSU. I graduated from Wake in 1958, went on to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to earn my Doctorate, served as a pastor for 14 years, and then served as a denominational leader raising funds for Home and Foreign Missionaries for 30 years. I retired in 2000. Ed Christman’s memory and words have lived with me for the past 57 years. Thank you, Ed, for changing one more student’s life for the Kingdom. I will never forget you. Enjoy the Kingdom.
Jimmy Powell,’58
Bob Ervin (WFU ’69)
What a great man. When I came to Wake in September 1965 and attended the pre-school retreat, Ed was one of the first I met. He had an infectious sense of humor. He taught me to play bridge. What a great Christmas gift to “graduate” on Christmas Eve. We know that we will have the opportunity to fellowship again. Wake has lost her namesake. Prayers to the family.
Emily Brewer
Often new friends who hear I went to Wake Forest often scoff, “Oh, the school for privileged kids.” Sure enough, if you drive on campus today, you’ll find see the swank new business school, boutique dining options, and expensive cars in the student lot. However, when I went there, there were at least two towering individuals who had grown up with the school since its early, humble days on the old campus in Wake Forest, N.C., and both of these men committed themselves wholly to student life and invested themselves most particularly in the lives of students of humbler backgrounds. These two gracious and liberal thinkers, both named Ed, lived only a block apart from one another, just off of Faculty Drive, and they both opened up their homes and families to me and to legions of other fortunate students. When I tell people how much I loved Wake Forest, it is largely because of how personally connected I was and will always be to Ed Christman and Ed Wilson.
When I arrived on campus for PreSchool the week before Freshman orientation, the first person to greet me was this decrepit old man, hunched down a bit, with squinty eyes, and unnatural confidence for some one in his condition. Within minutes, that impression melted, and I saw Ed Christman, the winsome pied piper who had a flock of followers I soon wanted to join. The theme for Preschool that year was “Roots and Wings”—and it felt very much that he was personally committed to giving us both rootedness in the traditions of our new alma mater and the cognitive and spiritual tools with which to wing our way into the wider world once we had matriculated. He gathered together two more Eds to welcome us into the fold: Ed Wilson and Ed Kilborne, and with poetry and song, prayer and contemplation, star-gazing, cold showers, nasty food, and a memorable talent show, we all together forged meaningful friendships that endure to this very day. Freshman Orientation had yet to begin, and already I was a dyed-in-the-wool Wake Forester, and it is due to the vision and wisdom and love of Ed Christman.
The following week, Ed and Jean invited the Poteat Scholars to their home for brunch. That afternoon, we sat informally around a coffee table spread with food, and somehow—I forget what triggered the story—I began telling him about maternal grandfather, who was in his day an important chemist with Union Carbide in Charleston, WV. Ed glommed onto that story and pressed me for more details. I was only 18 and had not yet begun synthesizing family history, but he catalyzed that process. That short conversation haunted me for years afterwards, because he helped me to see that there was a story there that needed to be understood and told. Twenty years later, I have just finished my second book about my grandfather, and I owe that feat in large part to Ed Christman.
The conversation we had that day, which has meant so much to me, was for him just another day of listening to, guiding, and communicating with students. He let us know that we were individuals and that we had value, and perhaps the splashiest way he signaled that was in his annual “What’s in a Name” speech, which he delivered by memory to the freshman class and which incorporated many of our last names. Then, each week, he would send out postcards to every student, inviting them to the weekly chapel service, which took place every Thursday at 11 in the small chapel at the back of Wingate Hall. It was the only hour in the week that no classes were scheduled, and he helped us understand how best to use this sacrosanct hour. I never once regretted the time I spent in his good presence and in the company of the good people whom he gathered there. I still have in my box of memories several of the postcards he sent, with hand-written scribbles letting me know that he valued me personally. It is not hard to understand why I became so immediately and lastingly in love with my school community, and it is largely due to the efforts of Ed Christman.
At my first Love Feast, I sat starry-eyed in my seat at Wait Chapel. Ed Christman, in his red Christmas bow tie, gave the hominem. He told the story of a young boy with albinism who could see, to borrow Scripture, only “through a glass darkly,” and yet whose inner eye could pierce through and see the essence of things better than those around him with perfect ocular vision.
Ed Christman understood the healing power of laughter, the sacredness of Wake Forest basketball, and the need to vent about all the “cotton-pickin’” nonsense in the world.
Five days before my graduation from Wake Forest, I was in a car wreck that could easily have claimed my life. I had left a medical appointment in which my blood was drawn, and I passed out at the wheel on my way home, on a four-lane highway in my hometown of Asheville. When he heard about this story, Ed Christman let me know that I survived for a reason. He was so visibly shaken and moved by the story that I believed him that there was something in this life I was put here to accomplish.
Through Preschool, the Poteat Scholarship program, Baptist Student Union, chapel, and his Sunday School class, I got to know the Christmans intimately. My friends who went to NCSU or UNC find it hard to name a campus leader who knew them by name, and so I know I was lucky to have been at Wake Forest, and to have been there in some of the last years of Ed Christman’s tenure as chaplain and sage and clown.
Needless to say, when it came time for me to marry, I knew that I needed the blessing, presence, and participation of two individuals: Ed Christman and Ed Wilson. They drove together down I-40 that Saturday in July, and when a multi-car pile-up stopped traffic that day, and when we found out they were going to be late, my father told the wedding guests to please be patient as the pre-wedding music played into the scheduled start time, because he was pretty sure his daughter wouldn’t walk down the aisle until the Eds were there. He was right. When Patrick and I had our son Dylan, we waited six weeks to leave our hometown, and when we did, we took our baby straight to Winston-Salem to meet Ed Wilson and Ed Christman. The Christmans had recently moved into Salemtowne, and they were so excited to meet Dylan. While Jean cooed, Ed consecrated our new family.
He has given me so many gifts to carry with me now that he has gone, and his voice lives so powerfully inside my head. I am selfish, though, because I really just want him back among us.
Jane Freeman Crosthwaite
Heaven, should there be such a place, will be like Ed’s office. One was warmly welcomedy by Gayle Hargrove, informed about Ed’s busy schedule, and offered a cup of tea. Ed’s broad smile was always accompanied by probing questions, accounts of recently read books, and a call to attend to recent human tragedies. Whether scheduled or suddenly dropping in, you knew that Ed’s heart was open and already expecting you.
With gratitude for Ed’s generous spirit and with continuing love for Jean and their family.
Jane Freeman Crosthwaite ’59
Cynthia S Durham, DC
It was a pleasure to know Ed Christman and his wife Jean. He was a wise, and kind man, easy to talk to. The angels in heaven are rejoicing and laughing (at his wisecracks) as Ed enters through the gates of heaven. He will be sorely missed. His legend lives on in each and every spirit he encountered along his long life’s journey. He invited me and my family to attend the Love Feast at Wait Chapel. It is because of Chaplain Ed Christman and the lovely service, the WFU Love Feast has become a tradition we look forward to every year, that marks the beginning of our Christmas Holiday season (in honor of Ed Christman and his wife Jean). May God be with Jean and the family at this time. And may Ed RIP.
Laura Kroger Wasem
I would say that I was a nobody on the campus of Wake Forest for most of my time there. There really was no reason for Ed Christman to remember my name, but he did, despite having learned thousands (tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands?!) of students’ names over the years. It boggled the mind to think about how a person could develop such a memory, but as with all things in his life, he surely had help from above. He had a knack for truly listening when you spoke to him, even when exchanging pleasantries. He really expected a thoughtful answer to the question “How are you today?” because he cared about every single person that set foot on the grounds of Wake Forest. I count myself fortunate to have known Ed Christman personally. In him we have seen a model of God’s love.
Class of ’97
bill jeffries
My remembrances of Ed date back to the early 60’s. when I was a freshman on campus at WFU it was his presence during events and overcoming the obstacles that he faced physically that in an unspoken way spoke hope to all of us who viewed him sharing and giving of himself. His presence was later experienced after graduation when I became aware of his support of the Poteat scholars. I again was moved that he cared so much along with his wife for the students who would receive such scholarship to get personally involved. He carried truly within his persona the spirit and heart of Wake Forest and now I pray as he has laid down the mantle he may know God’s peace as he is received ‘Well done Good and Faithful Servant.’
Patrick McDonough ’97
Junior year, I was allowed to drive back to school alone for the first time, from Massachusetts to Wake Forest. I was volunteering for the annual Pre-School conference run by Campus Ministry. Excited to be back on campus in the days before cell phones, I neglected to call my parents to let them know I had arrived safely in Winston-Salem.
My Dad called the campus ministry office and left a message asking if anyone had seen me. Ed Christman returned his call promptly and said he was sorry to hear that I had not called, and that yes, he had seen me on campus that day. Relieved, my Dad was ready to wish Ed well and let him get on with his day, but Ed asked, “Would you mind if I gave Patrick a little grief about it? You know, him not calling you?”
I saw Ed a few hours later, and in his unvarnished yet encouraging way, he explained that as much as my parents had done to help me get to college, I owed them much more than a phone call, and that given they were only asking for the latter, I should call and apologize, which I did.
It was hard to apologize to my Dad on the phone, because he was too busy raving about his call from Ed: “My son messes up the one instruction I gave him pulling out of the driveway, and this guy not only tracks you down and finds out that you’re safe, but he volunteers to deliver the speech I would have given you in my absence? Talk about customer service! I told him it would make my day for him to get on your case! This guy is my kind of Chaplain.” Ed and my father were still laughing about this eight years later when Ed helped officiate at my and Emily Brewer’s (’98) wedding.
This was Ed- solving problems, building character, strengthening relationships, and making us all laugh in the process. Brother Ed, we will miss you dearly. Our hearts go out to Jean and the entire Christman family.
LTC (Retired) Phillip W. Poe
As a freshman at Wake Forest on the new campus in 1957, I was a young 3 letter athlete from a Winston-Salem school. However I had misgivings of college as the first of my family to go. Too, I wondered about the strength of my faith and academic ability. I made an appointment with Ed. At the meeting I discussed my misgivings and apprehension about my faith, my life to date, and ask how to better my life through Wake.
His insights have stayed with me. He was a man of faith, intellectual honesty, and one who gave his all to we students. He lightened ones load of worry. He taught that one can let go and let God. His wisdom was always delivered with gentleness and caring in my 4 years at Wake Forest. I last talked with him at our 50th Reunion and at the Lambda Chi house.
Rest in Peace, Ed, and the Lord be with your family.
Emory Earp Austin
I remember marveling as a student that Ed could be everywhere on the campus at the same time. Always present in the moment yet with a clear, uncommon eye to the future of each student he cared about. Even though he knew the names of just about all of us, he had a way of shouting: “Hey ‘Ace,’ wait up!” Sometimes several people would ‘wait up’ at the same time! Both of Wake’s campuses were blessed beyond measure by this rare, extraordinary soul. While we may not “see his like again,” there are pieces of this great man cloned into each of the hearts of those of us who knew, loved, and appreciated what belonged to us in Ed Christman. Emory Earp Austin, class of ’59
Robert Ulery
Dear Jean and all who love Wake Forest, in all the time I have been at the University the times I have shared with Ed Christman were the best, and he is the best example of ‘humanitas’ that I can cite. He made us more fully human every time we let him into our life and work and worship of God. I rejoice that he has entered into the presence of the other saints.
leslie hall hallenbeck
I remember sitting in freshman ethics class taught by Ed Christman in 1967. His was the only course I ever took about the morality of actions and how to define ethics for yourself. I am glad I met and studied with him and am glad to know he was a part of Wake Forest all these years. He was a singular individual and I am grateful to have known him at Wake.
Michael Thornton
My fondest memory of Ed was when he sat with me one day in the Pit as we discussed my future goals and aspirations. At the time and ever since that day I have been gratified by his true sense of concern for me and my future. This was not a man who was “doing a job”, this was a man of God truly ministering to one of his brothers. We are truly blessed to have had Ed Christman as our teacher, brother, and friend.
Michael Thornton ’75
Dean Webster
I grew up as a Wake faculty member’s child, and Ed Christman is a key part of my past. He did seem to be a John the Baptist-type figure at Wake and in other contexts.
I think that his family and mine were friends. Both had periods of residence at the faculty apartments, and our season tickets were near each other, at the Wake basketball games at Memorial Coliseum. Ed was a pretty big/vocal fan (as was his wife, Jean).
His daughter, Carolyn, was my age; we were both in Mrs. Shores’ first-grade class at Speas Elementary. As a first grader, I had declared (erroneously, as it turned out) that I was going to marry her. I think I had already known her from kindergarten and Wake Forest Baptist Church, where her family was active. I recall going to a birthday party at her residence, then at the faculty apartments; this was maybe the mid-1960’s – it may have been the first time I’d ever encountered a piñata (or was the piñata at the Duforts’ ?); my memory is that Ed told a good story at that gathering.
–Dean Webster
Seiki Kinjo ’55 (from Japan)
Ever since I have known Ed on the old campus, I cannot recall a word from him suggesting to go to church though I have a lot of fond memories of his wit and wisdom on all sorts of subjects, ranging from world peace to eating water-melon. Yet he remains as an embodiment of the best qualities of Wake Forest, and a shining fellow living up to his name, Christman.
Though my wife and I are physically unable to take part in the memorial service at Wait Chapel, where we had a quiet and very enjoyable talk in 2005, the year of 50th class reunion, we will certainly join and share the feelings and prayers of those fortunate enough to attend the service. I’ll be telling Ed tomorrow that a mustard seed sown in me by him is growing, though slowly and feebly than wished, in Japan.
Julie Pitman McKinney ’92
I first met Dr. Christman during freshman orientation. He was my faculty advisor and a friend. I remember fondly going to his and Jean’s home that first week and them making us old fashioned banana splits. He was always there with words of wisdom and encouragement. He made sure I was able to stay at WFU as helped me get financial assistance when I was sure that I would not be able to keep up with the increasing tuition costs during my 4 years.
He was a great Godly man and I am sure that our loss here is truly Heaven’s gain. God has called home one of his truly special and beautiful creations. Jean and family you are in my prayers. May God comfort you in the coming days with His Holy Spirit.
Charles Sams
Condolences with thoughts and prayers from the Sams family. CS
David Coggins ’75
I was a benefactor of many of those conversations with Ed. I can think of no other individual who had more impact on my years at Wake and the on the direction of my future plans. He was a gift of God’s grace to me.
Ed was one of the first people that welcomed me to Wake Forest. As a freshman I attended the Retreat prior to starting my freshman year. It was a great place for me to make friends and begin my journey at Wake Forest. I was a day student when I first started so this was very important to me. I became active in BSU and Ed was always there to welcome me and make me feel at home.
After graduation I had the opportunity to participate in Wake Forest Theatre on the Main Stage now named for Dr. Harold Tedford. I was in Guys and Dolls directed by James Dodding of England. Ed was in that play and so was Kim his daughter. She taught me how to tap dance.
It was another great experience of community at Wake Forest.
Class of 1977
Ed “Christ-man” is a WFU legend. In our mind’s eye his portrait hangs among the University’s greatest. Long after the white hair, contagious laugh, and unbounded enthusiasm have faded his influence will continue to radiate. The many wonderful words in this guestbook attest to that. He first crossed my path in a casual way during a BSU function at NC State in 1955. That image of boundless energy and white hair stuck with me until it was re-kindled in the early 90’s as my wife, Susan ’62, became deeply involved with the WF Birthplace Society. Ed loved the old campus and was a source of needed encouragement as Susan struggled to garner support for the museum in old W.F. His calls were always for, “Sister Brinkley” but never without a disarming question, story, or comment for me. Here is an NC State guy who came to love Ed and Jean just as do all you WF folks. While Ed deserves the accolades, Jean has been his rock, his right arm, and yes, his eyes. I strongly suspect that she and Ed would have us attend the memorial service filled with laughter, joy, and probably a few jokes!
Sherrill Brinkley
Ed Christman changed my life. I was a Junior when Ed sat in my Kappa Alpha dorm room and said, “BSU needs you. Campus politics can wait.” I was President of my Freshman Class and I was smitten from then on. Something in Ed’s voice and prayer grabbed me. I became deeply involved in WFU BSU. Later that year I was elected President of the North Carolina BSU. I graduated from Wake in 1958, went on to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary to earn my Doctorate, served as a pastor for 14 years, and then served as a denominational leader raising funds for Home and Foreign Missionaries for 30 years. I retired in 2000. Ed Christman’s memory and words have lived with me for the past 57 years. Thank you, Ed, for changing one more student’s life for the Kingdom. I will never forget you. Enjoy the Kingdom.
Jimmy Powell,’58
What a great man. When I came to Wake in September 1965 and attended the pre-school retreat, Ed was one of the first I met. He had an infectious sense of humor. He taught me to play bridge. What a great Christmas gift to “graduate” on Christmas Eve. We know that we will have the opportunity to fellowship again. Wake has lost her namesake. Prayers to the family.
Often new friends who hear I went to Wake Forest often scoff, “Oh, the school for privileged kids.” Sure enough, if you drive on campus today, you’ll find see the swank new business school, boutique dining options, and expensive cars in the student lot. However, when I went there, there were at least two towering individuals who had grown up with the school since its early, humble days on the old campus in Wake Forest, N.C., and both of these men committed themselves wholly to student life and invested themselves most particularly in the lives of students of humbler backgrounds. These two gracious and liberal thinkers, both named Ed, lived only a block apart from one another, just off of Faculty Drive, and they both opened up their homes and families to me and to legions of other fortunate students. When I tell people how much I loved Wake Forest, it is largely because of how personally connected I was and will always be to Ed Christman and Ed Wilson.
When I arrived on campus for PreSchool the week before Freshman orientation, the first person to greet me was this decrepit old man, hunched down a bit, with squinty eyes, and unnatural confidence for some one in his condition. Within minutes, that impression melted, and I saw Ed Christman, the winsome pied piper who had a flock of followers I soon wanted to join. The theme for Preschool that year was “Roots and Wings”—and it felt very much that he was personally committed to giving us both rootedness in the traditions of our new alma mater and the cognitive and spiritual tools with which to wing our way into the wider world once we had matriculated. He gathered together two more Eds to welcome us into the fold: Ed Wilson and Ed Kilborne, and with poetry and song, prayer and contemplation, star-gazing, cold showers, nasty food, and a memorable talent show, we all together forged meaningful friendships that endure to this very day. Freshman Orientation had yet to begin, and already I was a dyed-in-the-wool Wake Forester, and it is due to the vision and wisdom and love of Ed Christman.
The following week, Ed and Jean invited the Poteat Scholars to their home for brunch. That afternoon, we sat informally around a coffee table spread with food, and somehow—I forget what triggered the story—I began telling him about maternal grandfather, who was in his day an important chemist with Union Carbide in Charleston, WV. Ed glommed onto that story and pressed me for more details. I was only 18 and had not yet begun synthesizing family history, but he catalyzed that process. That short conversation haunted me for years afterwards, because he helped me to see that there was a story there that needed to be understood and told. Twenty years later, I have just finished my second book about my grandfather, and I owe that feat in large part to Ed Christman.
The conversation we had that day, which has meant so much to me, was for him just another day of listening to, guiding, and communicating with students. He let us know that we were individuals and that we had value, and perhaps the splashiest way he signaled that was in his annual “What’s in a Name” speech, which he delivered by memory to the freshman class and which incorporated many of our last names. Then, each week, he would send out postcards to every student, inviting them to the weekly chapel service, which took place every Thursday at 11 in the small chapel at the back of Wingate Hall. It was the only hour in the week that no classes were scheduled, and he helped us understand how best to use this sacrosanct hour. I never once regretted the time I spent in his good presence and in the company of the good people whom he gathered there. I still have in my box of memories several of the postcards he sent, with hand-written scribbles letting me know that he valued me personally. It is not hard to understand why I became so immediately and lastingly in love with my school community, and it is largely due to the efforts of Ed Christman.
At my first Love Feast, I sat starry-eyed in my seat at Wait Chapel. Ed Christman, in his red Christmas bow tie, gave the hominem. He told the story of a young boy with albinism who could see, to borrow Scripture, only “through a glass darkly,” and yet whose inner eye could pierce through and see the essence of things better than those around him with perfect ocular vision.
Ed Christman understood the healing power of laughter, the sacredness of Wake Forest basketball, and the need to vent about all the “cotton-pickin’” nonsense in the world.
Five days before my graduation from Wake Forest, I was in a car wreck that could easily have claimed my life. I had left a medical appointment in which my blood was drawn, and I passed out at the wheel on my way home, on a four-lane highway in my hometown of Asheville. When he heard about this story, Ed Christman let me know that I survived for a reason. He was so visibly shaken and moved by the story that I believed him that there was something in this life I was put here to accomplish.
Through Preschool, the Poteat Scholarship program, Baptist Student Union, chapel, and his Sunday School class, I got to know the Christmans intimately. My friends who went to NCSU or UNC find it hard to name a campus leader who knew them by name, and so I know I was lucky to have been at Wake Forest, and to have been there in some of the last years of Ed Christman’s tenure as chaplain and sage and clown.
Needless to say, when it came time for me to marry, I knew that I needed the blessing, presence, and participation of two individuals: Ed Christman and Ed Wilson. They drove together down I-40 that Saturday in July, and when a multi-car pile-up stopped traffic that day, and when we found out they were going to be late, my father told the wedding guests to please be patient as the pre-wedding music played into the scheduled start time, because he was pretty sure his daughter wouldn’t walk down the aisle until the Eds were there. He was right. When Patrick and I had our son Dylan, we waited six weeks to leave our hometown, and when we did, we took our baby straight to Winston-Salem to meet Ed Wilson and Ed Christman. The Christmans had recently moved into Salemtowne, and they were so excited to meet Dylan. While Jean cooed, Ed consecrated our new family.
He has given me so many gifts to carry with me now that he has gone, and his voice lives so powerfully inside my head. I am selfish, though, because I really just want him back among us.
Heaven, should there be such a place, will be like Ed’s office. One was warmly welcomedy by Gayle Hargrove, informed about Ed’s busy schedule, and offered a cup of tea. Ed’s broad smile was always accompanied by probing questions, accounts of recently read books, and a call to attend to recent human tragedies. Whether scheduled or suddenly dropping in, you knew that Ed’s heart was open and already expecting you.
With gratitude for Ed’s generous spirit and with continuing love for Jean and their family.
Jane Freeman Crosthwaite ’59
It was a pleasure to know Ed Christman and his wife Jean. He was a wise, and kind man, easy to talk to. The angels in heaven are rejoicing and laughing (at his wisecracks) as Ed enters through the gates of heaven. He will be sorely missed. His legend lives on in each and every spirit he encountered along his long life’s journey. He invited me and my family to attend the Love Feast at Wait Chapel. It is because of Chaplain Ed Christman and the lovely service, the WFU Love Feast has become a tradition we look forward to every year, that marks the beginning of our Christmas Holiday season (in honor of Ed Christman and his wife Jean). May God be with Jean and the family at this time. And may Ed RIP.
I would say that I was a nobody on the campus of Wake Forest for most of my time there. There really was no reason for Ed Christman to remember my name, but he did, despite having learned thousands (tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands?!) of students’ names over the years. It boggled the mind to think about how a person could develop such a memory, but as with all things in his life, he surely had help from above. He had a knack for truly listening when you spoke to him, even when exchanging pleasantries. He really expected a thoughtful answer to the question “How are you today?” because he cared about every single person that set foot on the grounds of Wake Forest. I count myself fortunate to have known Ed Christman personally. In him we have seen a model of God’s love.
Class of ’97
My remembrances of Ed date back to the early 60’s. when I was a freshman on campus at WFU it was his presence during events and overcoming the obstacles that he faced physically that in an unspoken way spoke hope to all of us who viewed him sharing and giving of himself. His presence was later experienced after graduation when I became aware of his support of the Poteat scholars. I again was moved that he cared so much along with his wife for the students who would receive such scholarship to get personally involved. He carried truly within his persona the spirit and heart of Wake Forest and now I pray as he has laid down the mantle he may know God’s peace as he is received ‘Well done Good and Faithful Servant.’
Junior year, I was allowed to drive back to school alone for the first time, from Massachusetts to Wake Forest. I was volunteering for the annual Pre-School conference run by Campus Ministry. Excited to be back on campus in the days before cell phones, I neglected to call my parents to let them know I had arrived safely in Winston-Salem.
My Dad called the campus ministry office and left a message asking if anyone had seen me. Ed Christman returned his call promptly and said he was sorry to hear that I had not called, and that yes, he had seen me on campus that day. Relieved, my Dad was ready to wish Ed well and let him get on with his day, but Ed asked, “Would you mind if I gave Patrick a little grief about it? You know, him not calling you?”
I saw Ed a few hours later, and in his unvarnished yet encouraging way, he explained that as much as my parents had done to help me get to college, I owed them much more than a phone call, and that given they were only asking for the latter, I should call and apologize, which I did.
It was hard to apologize to my Dad on the phone, because he was too busy raving about his call from Ed: “My son messes up the one instruction I gave him pulling out of the driveway, and this guy not only tracks you down and finds out that you’re safe, but he volunteers to deliver the speech I would have given you in my absence? Talk about customer service! I told him it would make my day for him to get on your case! This guy is my kind of Chaplain.” Ed and my father were still laughing about this eight years later when Ed helped officiate at my and Emily Brewer’s (’98) wedding.
This was Ed- solving problems, building character, strengthening relationships, and making us all laugh in the process. Brother Ed, we will miss you dearly. Our hearts go out to Jean and the entire Christman family.
As a freshman at Wake Forest on the new campus in 1957, I was a young 3 letter athlete from a Winston-Salem school. However I had misgivings of college as the first of my family to go. Too, I wondered about the strength of my faith and academic ability. I made an appointment with Ed. At the meeting I discussed my misgivings and apprehension about my faith, my life to date, and ask how to better my life through Wake.
His insights have stayed with me. He was a man of faith, intellectual honesty, and one who gave his all to we students. He lightened ones load of worry. He taught that one can let go and let God. His wisdom was always delivered with gentleness and caring in my 4 years at Wake Forest. I last talked with him at our 50th Reunion and at the Lambda Chi house.
Rest in Peace, Ed, and the Lord be with your family.
I remember marveling as a student that Ed could be everywhere on the campus at the same time. Always present in the moment yet with a clear, uncommon eye to the future of each student he cared about. Even though he knew the names of just about all of us, he had a way of shouting: “Hey ‘Ace,’ wait up!” Sometimes several people would ‘wait up’ at the same time! Both of Wake’s campuses were blessed beyond measure by this rare, extraordinary soul. While we may not “see his like again,” there are pieces of this great man cloned into each of the hearts of those of us who knew, loved, and appreciated what belonged to us in Ed Christman. Emory Earp Austin, class of ’59
Dear Jean and all who love Wake Forest, in all the time I have been at the University the times I have shared with Ed Christman were the best, and he is the best example of ‘humanitas’ that I can cite. He made us more fully human every time we let him into our life and work and worship of God. I rejoice that he has entered into the presence of the other saints.
I remember sitting in freshman ethics class taught by Ed Christman in 1967. His was the only course I ever took about the morality of actions and how to define ethics for yourself. I am glad I met and studied with him and am glad to know he was a part of Wake Forest all these years. He was a singular individual and I am grateful to have known him at Wake.
My fondest memory of Ed was when he sat with me one day in the Pit as we discussed my future goals and aspirations. At the time and ever since that day I have been gratified by his true sense of concern for me and my future. This was not a man who was “doing a job”, this was a man of God truly ministering to one of his brothers. We are truly blessed to have had Ed Christman as our teacher, brother, and friend.
Michael Thornton ’75
I grew up as a Wake faculty member’s child, and Ed Christman is a key part of my past. He did seem to be a John the Baptist-type figure at Wake and in other contexts.
I think that his family and mine were friends. Both had periods of residence at the faculty apartments, and our season tickets were near each other, at the Wake basketball games at Memorial Coliseum. Ed was a pretty big/vocal fan (as was his wife, Jean).
His daughter, Carolyn, was my age; we were both in Mrs. Shores’ first-grade class at Speas Elementary. As a first grader, I had declared (erroneously, as it turned out) that I was going to marry her. I think I had already known her from kindergarten and Wake Forest Baptist Church, where her family was active. I recall going to a birthday party at her residence, then at the faculty apartments; this was maybe the mid-1960’s – it may have been the first time I’d ever encountered a piñata (or was the piñata at the Duforts’ ?); my memory is that Ed told a good story at that gathering.
–Dean Webster
Ever since I have known Ed on the old campus, I cannot recall a word from him suggesting to go to church though I have a lot of fond memories of his wit and wisdom on all sorts of subjects, ranging from world peace to eating water-melon. Yet he remains as an embodiment of the best qualities of Wake Forest, and a shining fellow living up to his name, Christman.
Though my wife and I are physically unable to take part in the memorial service at Wait Chapel, where we had a quiet and very enjoyable talk in 2005, the year of 50th class reunion, we will certainly join and share the feelings and prayers of those fortunate enough to attend the service. I’ll be telling Ed tomorrow that a mustard seed sown in me by him is growing, though slowly and feebly than wished, in Japan.
I first met Dr. Christman during freshman orientation. He was my faculty advisor and a friend. I remember fondly going to his and Jean’s home that first week and them making us old fashioned banana splits. He was always there with words of wisdom and encouragement. He made sure I was able to stay at WFU as helped me get financial assistance when I was sure that I would not be able to keep up with the increasing tuition costs during my 4 years.
He was a great Godly man and I am sure that our loss here is truly Heaven’s gain. God has called home one of his truly special and beautiful creations. Jean and family you are in my prayers. May God comfort you in the coming days with His Holy Spirit.
Condolences with thoughts and prayers from the Sams family. CS
I was a benefactor of many of those conversations with Ed. I can think of no other individual who had more impact on my years at Wake and the on the direction of my future plans. He was a gift of God’s grace to me.