Christine H. Cribbin's Obituary
We are sad to announce that our mother, Christine “Chris” (Heher) Cribbin, died suddenly in her home on October 3, 2021, at 82 years of age. Our Mom devoted her life to her family and especially cherished special times spent on family vacations and hosting everyday (extra)ordinary family dinners and special holidays with her children and grandchildren.
Chris’ early life was spent in Washington DC, where she graduated Georgetown Visitation Junior College in 1958, and grew up in NE DC around “Turkey Thicket”, where incidentally and unbeknownst to either of them, her husband of 54 years also grew up - he played basketball while she played tennis. Chris and Joe met at a dance in 1962 through mutual friends and married in 1965, settling into life in Washington D.C. and a few years later, Silver Spring MD. Although primarily a homemaker and avid volunteer in her children’s schools, Chris liked to maintain her independence and keep her mind active as an employee. She spent years before having children as a medical secretary and later years employed as a teacher’s assistant in a preschool, a cook at the local Catholic convent and as an assistant at the local library.
In 1990 Chris and her husband Joe began to spend their summers in Lewes along with their youngest son, John. Chris adored the Lewes life - much slower then, especially by DC standards, and the family moved to Lewes permanently in 2000. Here in Lewes, Chris was an active volunteer at the Lewes Historical Society, the Lewes Library and spent many terms as a student at the Osher Lifelong Learning Academy, where she met new friends. During these years she continued to entertain and care for her family with bountiful feasts during the holidays and doted on her grandsons.
Later in life, Chris was diagnosed with breast cancer and bravely overcame it with treatment by a staff of devoted and kind doctors, nurses, and volunteers at Beebe Tunnel Cancer Center with her family standing alongside of her. As a survivor, she chose to spend the following years in her home with her husband, who passed away in January 2020, and greatly enjoyed visits with family and long philosophical conversations with anyone who cared to chat it up with her! She obsessed over crosswords and any subject that provoked her curiosity and was a great listener to friends and caregivers alike. Everyone cherished her kindness.
Our family is comforted that as a woman of strong faith, which she passed along to us, Mom is in her heavenly home with Dad, Nana and Pop Pop. Mom lived her life “doing little things with great love” and was a great admirer of Mother Teresa. We will try our best to do the same, Mom. We love you.
In addition to her husband, Christine was preceded in death by her daughter-in-law, Jenny Faulkner Cribbin. She is survived by her children: Elizabeth, Joe, Anne Marie, and John; her son-in-law, Jim Korte; her grandsons: Ian and Nicholas Galope; her sister, Ann Spigone, of Milton, DE; her brother-in-law, James Patrick Cribbin; and her nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, at 11:00 AM, at St. Jude The Apostle Church, 152 Tulip Drive, Lewes, DE, where friends may visit beginning at 10:00 AM. Interment will follow at St. Peter’s Episcopal Cemetery, 660 Pilottown Rd, Lewes, DE.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Tunnell Cancer Center, https://www.beebehealthcare.org/donate through the Beebe Medical Foundation.
Please sign the virtual guestbook located on the tribute page.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, masks and social distancing are recommended during the services.
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