Chris Hartshorne, We Already Miss You

A great big light has gone out in our family. Our gregarious, hilarious, fun-loving and smiling cousin Chris, known to most as Tucker, has passed away. It’s damn hard to believe that he won’t be around to smile and charm us, and bring us back so many memories just by being his wonderful self.

READ COMMENTS FROM HIS MANY FRIENDS ON HIS PASSING HERE

Chris was an animal trainer who worked with major studios providing them with animal characters that he taught to do tricks and follow instructions. One of the last things I read about on the blog created after he fell sick was about his friends who had to rustle up the goats that they brought into the Saturday Night Live studios for a skit. He was Susie’s partner for 30 years, he was a devoted husband and had hundreds of friends…we found that out when he married and so many people came to celebrate with them.

Chris and Susan have been a fixture…he more than anyone else, brought us closer together as cousins, aunts and brothers and sisters. Chris loved the family legacy, the old Essie stories, and life in the 1960s and earlier. I remember he had a 1954 pick-up that he loved driving around, he brought it up to my prep school and stayed with me in my dorm room for a few nights. He loved old black R&B crooners and he loved playing music. He did it for a living for two decades.

I just can’t believe he’s gone.