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 Christine Snyder
32 years old
Kailua, HI
Christine was an arborist for an environmental organization called The Outdoor Circle. She grew up in Hawaii and had never been to the East Coast until this trip.
"She had been to a lot of fun places and told me she had a lot of pictures she couldn't wait to show me," said Ian Pescaia, Christine's husband of three months.
"She was in love with life," Mr. Pescaia said. "She didn't have a bitter spot in her."
The following was sent to us by Christine Snyder's mother-in-law, Ian Pescaia's mother, Leslie Adams:
Ian and Chris attended the same high school, Kalaheo High School here in Kailua, on the island of Oahu, Hawaii ... The Outdoor Circle, where Chris was Project Manager, is an environmental awareness group that has been instrumental in keeping Hawaii clean and green. Chris was also one of the very few women Certified Arborists in the United States, and had just left a tree conference -- and so trees are being planted in her memory throughout the US.
There is a Milo tree planted in her memory here at Magic Island, in the Ala Moana Beach Park in Honolulu, along with a Memorial Bench erected in her memory by the Mayor's Office. The site where the tree and bench reside looks out over the ocean and is in absolutely a beautiful spot; Chris loved Hawaii, our beautiful environment and was passionate about keeping our "aina" (the land) precious and sacred.
Ian and Chris were not only beloved husband and wife, they were soul mates. Chris was such a presence of LIGHT wherever she went that everyone she knew always remembered her even after one introduction -- and she is missed terribly. We found that reading about this plane load of very special, very brave people -- about every single one of them, brought us closer to Chris and helped us heal a bit more.
For more about Christine, see this tribute page created by one of her friends. The photo above is borrowed from this page.
For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's biography of Christine Snyder, click here.
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