Christopher T Pearson, Born on July 13th 1943 to Estelle Coyle Pearson and James Winfred Pearson in the city of Philadelphia, PA. He grew up in the Penny pack section of NE Philly on Aster Ct. He was one of six brothers; Jim, Jack, Bob, Drew, and Bill. When he was a teenager he met my mother Harriet P. Cataline who was a best friend of Irene Tornetta who later married Chris’s Brother Jack. This was a close friendship that played an important role in the life of my brother and me growing up. Harriet and Chris were married on January 4th, 1961 and had their first Child (Chris Jr.) one year later on January 31st 1962. At this time Chris served in the United States Navy and was stationed in Pensacola, FL where Chris Jr. was born. Later that year Chris was honorably discharged after the expiration of his active obligated service. Chris and Harriet moved back to Philadelphia and took residence on Edmund St, in the Tacony section of the city. During this time his life his second son (Thomas) was born on Sept 5th 1964.
After leaving the Navy Chris worked in many roles, I’ll try to remember them all…. Let’s see.
A Milkman with Harbison Dairy’s
A Delivery Driver with Stroehmann’s Bakery
A Beverage Driver with both Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola bottling companies in Philadelphia.
A Bus Driver with SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
A Route Driver with Mountain Valley Spring Water (Health Waters of PA)
Chris had a passion for cooking and serving others. He was a graduate of the Restaurant School of Philadelphia and was a certified Chef. During this time in his life he met Marianne Lanzetta who later became his second wife. She also studied culinary arts in Philadelphia and they later traveled to work and reside at The Cedar Lake Bible College in Crowne Point Indiana. Chris was in his glory during this time in his life as he was serving the Lord thru cooking and ministry. He also fathered another child (Alatha Joy) November 27, 1989 while living in Indiana. This was his first daughter and he labored to bring her up in the ways of the Lord by reading Christian bedtime stories, praying together, attending church, and participating in Awana’s. He was faithful to consistently pray for his family and many others. He had a deep concern for the spiritual wellbeing of those he loved and knew. His generosity towards missions and other organizations such as Compassion International showed how important sharing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ was to him.
Later Chris and his new family moved to Palm Bay, Florida where Chris Jr. lived. He wanted to be near is son and grandchildren. He had three granddaughters (Amy, Stephanie, and Amanda), and eight great grandchildren. (Stone, Trevor, Christopher, Maxwell, Dominik, Liam, Jessa, and Marta). Chris moved from a culinary career to take a position as a pest control special at Slug a Bug Inc. He worked that job until his retirement. But Chris’ love for working and serving in the kitchen didn’t stop. He volunteered at Calvary Chapel in Melbourne in the Common Grounds Café and he also worked with guest services throughout the 20 plus years he attended church at Calvary.
Chris was a loving and forgiving soul. Slow to anger and filled with an abundance of grace for human kind. His generosity was amazing as it was common place for him to simply trust God and put his needs second to the people that crossed his path. He was a surrogate for a number of children in his community and acted as a father to them. Steven, Robert, and Chris can all testify to this truth.
This is just a brief summary of Chris’ life. He touched many people throughout his years and hopefully this story will bring your memories of him to mind as we honor him in his passing. He was ready to meet his Lord and though the timing was unexpected for us who remain, he is now with Him in glory.