Christine L. (Kempa) Killmeyer

Christine L. (Kempa) Killmeyer, age 64, of Robinson Township, found eternal peace with our Lord on September 25, 2023. Loving wife of Deacon Tim M. Killmeyer for 43 years, she spread her deep, internal joy to everyone she met, with never a concern about herself but always turning her cares toward those she loved and in turn to those they loved.

Chris was the daughter of John and Olga (Montag) Kempa but spent much of her young life with her siblings, the late John (Sandy) Kempa, Sandy (Buzzy) Jamison (who graciously took her and her siblings to live with them when times were tough), Greg (Tawny) Kempa, and her loving twin Colleen (Larry) York. She is the daughter-in-law of Donald W. and the late Barbara Killmeyer, as well as the sister-in-law of Dr. Wayde D. Killmeyer.
Chris was much loved by her many nieces and nephews, Bill Jamison, Bob Jamison, Shaun Jamison, Tiffany Zerr, Amy Boeh, Larry York, Matthew York, Emma Killmeyer, and Billy Killmeyer.

In January of 1980, just after she turned 21, Chris and Tim were involved in a minor 5 or 10 mph car accident. Unbeknown to anyone Chris had a defect in her neck, and while the accident wouldn’t have affected anyone else, it left her as a C2 level quadriplegic on a ventilator, unable to move from the neck down. After four months of rehab at Craig Hospital in Denver she returned to Pittsburgh to live as full a life as possible. And it was full. She never let her disability slow her down. And as mentioned above, she was known for being always upbeat with her main concern always for others, never herself. She touched more lives than she will ever know. Always up for an adventure, she loved to travel to various places, some locally and some as far as Canada and Florida. But her favorite thing to do over the years was ride “monkey” (sidecar passenger) in her and Tim’s sidecar rig for hours and hours at a time. And her nurses would often take her to various “women only” gatherings.

Speaking of nurses, Tim will be forever grateful to the women and men who helped him care for Chris over the years. They became like family and their concern and devotion to her was an expression of pure love. In no particular order: Pat Kalyn, Carol (Smerdy) Smerdell, Cindy Woollett, Pam Barone, Kathy Yost, Tina George, Sarah Brown, Lisa Grottenthaler, Jason Zuber, Lea Chwilka, Theresa Szymonik, Julia Custer, Megan Monyak, Heidi Leytrick, Mike Stuvek, Mary Jo Summers, Sylvia Simpson, Kevin McKnight, Peggy Dutch, Lorraine Livingston, Jean Eyerman, Peggy McGee, Patricia Marshall, Sandy Nemetz, Lisa Kranker, Rebecca Hoit, Ann Brown, Cheri Haney, Sue Wells, Tan Nguyen, Alisha Lutsko John, Lisanne Kranker, Tiffany Zerr, Colleen York, Janet, and Betsy.

Gratitude is also extended to those who brought her the Blessed Sacrament when she was no longer able to easily attend Sunday Mass. They became true friends and many of them who went home before her are surely welcoming her now. Special thanks also to Darlene Turino who was a steady, constant, and true friend to her for so many years.

Family and friends will gather on Sunday, October 1, 2023 from 2:00-8:00pm at Pittsburgh Cremation and Funeral Care 5405 Steubenville Pike Robinson Township, PA 15136. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, October 2, 2023 at 10:00am at Holy Trinity Church of Archangel Gabriel Parish. Committal prayers to follow at Resurrection Cemetery.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations might be made to the Craig Foundation to enable it to help others with injuries’ similar to Chris’ find freedom and joy in their lives just as it did for Chris.
https://craighospital.org/foundation/donate or 303-789-8650