I am greatly saddened to hear of Chris’s passing. She was a very dear friend and I will always treasure the many fond memories of her. Please accept my heartfelt sympathy.

I was so saddened to hear the news! I have been away from the U of A since last year, but Chris will always live in my heart! She was a noble person with whom I shared many life events, laughs, and complicity! She possessed so many attributes that made her a unique asset for the Department of Policy Studies. My most sincere condolences!

I was so sad to hear that Chris had passed away. I have known Chris for some time while working at the University. She was a very caring and loving person. She will be missed very much by all her family and friends.

May you find strength to go on and always remember her.

Henny de Groot

My deepest sympathy to Manfred Prokop and his family on the passing of Christiane. ‘Begrenzt ist das Leben,

doch unendlich die Erinnerung.’

Tom Priestly

Sehr geehrter Herr Prokop,

Zu dem schweren Verlust durch den Tod Ihrer Frau sprechen wir Ihnen unser herzliches Beileid aus.

Die liebe Christiane haben wir als eine warmherzige, gute, und sehr nette Dame gekannt. Möge der liebe Gott sie in sein Reich aufnehmen, in das Land der ewigen Freude.

Sehr geehrter Herr Prokop,

die Mitglieder des Deutschen Vereins Kikinda möchten ihr innigstes Beileid in Ihrem tiefen Trauer um Ihre verstorbene Frau Christiane ausdrücken.

Alexander Konecni,

Vorsitzender des Vereins

Dear Manfred,

I am very saddened to hear of your loss. My heart goes out to you in this dark night of sorrow, and I send you my heartfelt condolences. Chris was quite simply a beautiful person, and her memory will be treasured in the hearts of all who knew her.

Dear Manfred & family: Please accept my sincere condolences for the loss of Chris. As a grad student of Ed. Admin. of U of A from China, I, together with many other Canadian and international grad students studying at the department, will always remember the assistance, help and love that Chris offered us.

Bing Zuo

Dr. P

Saying my sympathy doesn’t seem enough.

My prayers and thoughts are with you and Tom (and family) at this time and in the days to come.

I wish I was nearby to give you a hug!!

Catherine

I am so sad to read of Chris’s passing. She was always a cheerful and friendly co-worker.

She was one of only a few persons I knew who could find joy in statistical analysis.

Dear Manfred & Thomas & family: We are so sorry to read of the death of Chris.I know we had not seen her for many years but we never forgot her.We have so many fond memories of her in our old neighbourhood when we were so “young”. She was Marlon’s second Mom. May God comfort you all in your mourning.

Manfred & Family

Our deepest sympathy on your loss from the German Canadian Association of Alberta.

President Heinz Kleist, Executive and Membership

Hello Dear Manfred and Chris

I just received this very sad news that Chris has passed away. Chris and you have had and will always have a very special place in our heart. I am so honored that I could hear her warm and kind voice before final Good Bye. Her helping hand and being a very mindful person to be kind to everyone at all times reminds me of how sun shines on you, warms you, and energizes you in every early morning….

Chris wasn’t just a Body, Mind, and Spirit; she always brought the 4th dimension into her relationship building and that is her huge HEART….

Her sweet smile has been my sun shine every early morning….for so long at the school and now I must say So Long to my Dear Chris until we revisit you again in a better world….

The comfort and embracing that you have shown to all graduate/International students is so remarkable that must be recognized as a role model….You were recognized and named as an Unconditional Loving Mother who helped us to feel like home….

And, Dear Manfred, I would like to offer to you and your esteemed and extended family members this beautiful poem from Hafez:

Oh Heart! Be Faithful with you Love and Passion

Indeed, this Journey is most Rewarding with your Patience….

With a weeping Heartache like to offer the most sincere condolences to all family members and friends of Christ….

Ahmad, Aghdas, Nafysseh, Hossein, and AliReza

I also in my prayers for the comfort of Chris’s Soul I would like to share with you the following quotes and words of wisdom:

First of all…. who are we really and why are we here?

Deepak Chopra tells us:

“Human beings are made of body, mind and spirit. Of these, spirit is primary, for it connects us to the source of everything, the eternal field of consciousness.”

and that….

“Each of us is here to discover our true Self… that essentially we are spiritual beings who have taken manifestation in physical form… that we’re not human beings that have occasional spiritual experiences that we’re spiritual beings that have occasional human experiences. “… So, knowing now that we are spirit incarnated on earth to discover our true Self through our physical form, and knowing that Spirit does not die, then we can understand that death is nothing to fear because it is then really only a transition and a ‘return to home’, then how we live our lives here and how we think about ourselves and our life can be liberating and empowering. If you were to die tomorrow, can you say that you lived a full life and that you impacted positively on the lives of those around you? Would there be any regrets of things left unsaid or undone?

Death – the last sleep?

No, it is the final awakening.

~ Walter Scott ~

Only those who have dared to let go

can dare to re-enter.

~ Meister Eckhart ~

When the heart weeps for what it has lost,

the soul laughs for what it has found.

~ Sufi aphorism ~

Of course you don’t die.

Nobody dies.

Death doesn’t exist.

You only reach a new level of vision,

a new realm of consciousness,

a new unknown world.

~ Henry Miller ~

We are devastated by Christiane’s sudden death. She will be sorely missed.

Philip and Marie-Gabrielle – old friends

Kristin and James – her godchildren

How does one attach mere words that can do justice to describing the sadness I feel now that Chris is no longer on this earth? How can one use words to express my condolences to Chris’s family? Words are inadequate but from a distance in South Africa, they are all I have. I spent 4 ½ years as a graduate student at U Of A, where Chris, despite her official title of ‘admin,’ was more commonly known as the HEART of the department, particularly by international students.

Chris made Edmonton seem warm even when it was – 40 and the snow lay thick, cold, unwelcoming and never-ending. She understood the challenges of being in a ‘strange’ culture, and when I look at Chris’s interesting life, I can see why she could relate to students from South Africa, Egypt and Iran. Vienna, to USA, to Canada and all her travels in-between, certainly made Chris a qualified ‘cultural broker.’ Chris told me stories over her home-made Austrian soup about growing up in Vienna, about her wonderful husband Manfred, her sons, and her sister; she showed me photos and I feel so privileged to have shared in some of the parts of Chris’s life. She also wrote a ‘memoir’ (she did not want to call it that), and it helped me to understand how she could be such a wonderful person. I loved Chris for many reasons and one was because “she just was who she was.” There were no airs and graces about Chris: “take it or leave it” (“lump” it as Chris would say). And those of us who had any sense “took it.” I for one grasped it with both hands, as the ‘it” was fundamental to Chris being Chris. I took her friendship and held on for all these years: I left Canada 6 years ago and Chris and I stayed in touch as I know when I have a special friend. Her love for Manfred was so vast that it seemed that other marriages were bleak; to see someone’s eyes sparkle when they speak about their husband after so many years of marriage is so beautiful. I am so glad her sister was with her when she left us as she really was her other half, and the stories of their growing up and the different paths they took, but the love and bond they always shared was something all siblings would love to experience. Chris also shared the pain of losing Robert and spoke of her love and admiration for Thomas. She would send photos of Ally and Joel and tell me anecdotes so I felt like I knew them. She radiated love for her family and it showed in her smile when she spoke of them.

Chris told me she was tired and going to the doctor. I thought she would write back and tell me it was a little bug. When I hear d Chris was in hospital I thought she would go home and that I would plan a visit, of course that did not happen. I thought Chris would say to me, no don’t send flowers, I will be out of here soon – Chris was tenacious. So much so that when I arrived in Canada from sunny South Africa, she volunteered to teach me ice-skating. In the letter I sent to the hospital via snail mail (I am not sure that she got it), I enclosed a photo of her ‘teaching me’ how to skate. I noticed that on the back I had written ‘who is holding whose hand?’ To this day I am never sure if Chris could actually skate, but that was Chris: she always held my hand in Canada when I needed her to and she got me back on the metaphorical ice when I had fallen flat.

This is a quote from the acknowledgements in my PhD (2005)

[I thank]: “Chris Prokop; for taking me into her home and nurturing me when I needed it most. Chris, will never fully understand the central role she played in the completion of my PhD. She has, quite rightly, been called the “Heart of the Department” by a fellow student, and any international student will speak with great respect of Chris. I thank her with much appreciation and warmth as Chris, for no other reason, than out of the goodness of her heart, picked me up when I had fallen, and she did it graciously, humbly, and non-judgmentally. She continued to have undying faith in my ability to write and would not even hear about the idea that I would not finish my PhD. Sometimes, emotional support was far more important than academic support in this PhD endeavour, and it was Chris who, towards the end, provided me with the encouragement that got me through the day.”

I am selfish to feel such despair at Chris’s departure, as I cannot imagine what Manfred and her family are feeling. I wish I could somehow offer comfort, but please know that I loved Chris very dearly; she watched out for me. I saw her as guardian angel in Canada, and I guess my only comfort is to know that she still is one.

Please accept my love and condolences.

Terry

Terry-Ann Selikow.

Dear Manfred, Tom, Irmi, Jackie, Alexa, Joel and Heinz!

Please accept our heartfelt condolences on the loss of your beloved wife, mother, sister, mother-in-law, grandmother, and sister-in-law.

Chris was someone you only needed to know for a few brief moments to like and love her. While we have not spent a tremendous amount of time with her, we cherish each encounter and each moment and will never forget her warmth, her laughter, her humor and her authenticity. We feel richer for having known her and the sadness and loss that we feel today is a price we pay willingly for having had the privilege of knowing her. To us she will always represent warmth, kindness and fun, even a little mischief.

It is our wish that we all keep her spark and warmth alive and that you will find comfort in your memories, in your shared love for Christel and in your love for each other.

For every joy that passes something beautiful remains.

You are in our thoughts in this very difficult time.

With love and sympathy,

from Caroline and George

Chris brought joy and light to those she met. When she came into the school to work with our students the children were all honorary grandchildren. Each got a kind word, some time to learn and a hug! Personally she always asked about my own family and shared the joy of traveling with her husband. My deepest sympathy to your family. I know Chris will be missed in your lives. I just wanted you to know how much I treasure having known her.