Obituary for Christine Margaret Lipohar
Christine Lipohar
March 11th, 1955 – January 14th, 2021
It is with profound sadness that the family of Christine Lipohar announces her peaceful passing in Calgary Alberta after a courageous battle with cancer. Christine is survived by siblings Susan, Steve (Sue), Mick and Peter, nieces Rose and Sara, and nephews Jacob and Nicholas. She was predeceased by parents Stefan and Margarete Lipohar, sister Anita and nephew Isaac.
Christine spent her teenage years in Port Dover, Ontario where she formed lifelong friendships with incredible people. Her love for animals resulted in her attending Centralia College in Huron Park, where she graduated as an Animal Health Technician. She worked in a veterinary clinic in Sault Saint Marie Ontario and shortly thereafter was hired back at Centralia College. As an instructor, she spent the next three fun years as a beloved teacher shaping and influencing the lives of many young eager students. She eventually joined the London Ontario’s University Hospital medical research team where she worked to help pioneer and establish the research operating room. She carved out and advanced the role of Animal Health Technicians in an extremely important capacity for the ethical and humane use of animals in ground-breaking organ transplant research which continues today as a world-respected surgical research and teaching unit. After ten years Christine joined the hospital administration as a Service Coordinator for the hospital running budgets and supply management initiatives for inpatient and outpatient surgical services.
In 1994 Chris felt a calling to travel to Africa to help in whatever capacity with the Rwandan refugee crisis. She left for three months and during her time away fell in love with Africa, its people and the extraordinary international individuals who dedicate their lives to this line of work. Suffice to say, she found her true calling. It was during this time that she knew she would stay in Africa and so began her humanitarian child protection work with GOAL. She went on to work in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Save the Children and in West Africa across Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Cote D’Ivoire as a roving child protection advisor during and following the conflict. Whilst in West Africa, she worked on family tracing, reunifying children and parents who lost each other during the war, and with children who had been forced to become child soldiers or child sex slaves, helping them deal with the after-effects of the abuse and reintegrating them back into normal life. Christine was one of the original staff members who identified the abuse by humanitarian workers that was taking place against children and families in displaced and refugee camps across West Africa in the early 2000s.
Christine also worked as a regional child protection advisor for Southern Africa working with families decimated by HIV and AIDS and with children and young people to reduce their vulnerability and increase prevention and protection against HIV. Christine then moved to her beloved Zimbabwe to work as the child protection advisor for the Zimbabwe country office during the days of trillion-dollar Zimbabwe notes, hyper-inflation and increasing poverty and vulnerability for children. During this time she achieved her Master in International Child Welfare in the UK. Christine was innovative; in addition to the usual child protection work, she came up with ideas on how to reduce child separation, particularly during the huge cholera outbreak in 2008 when children were separated from their parents when being admitted to the cholera treatment centres. She then worked for Save the Children US and Save the Children International as a child protection advisor across the globe deploying to numerous countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific region.
Wherever there was a challenge or an emergency affecting children rights, Christine was ready to go. She worked in a range of different contexts that included conflict settings, natural disasters, displaced communities and fragile states. She carried out ground-breaking work in child protection and child safeguarding. Many of the colleagues she has mentored over the years are now leading their own child protection programmes. Christine has had a massive and far-reaching impact on countless children and their families in so many countries. She was passionate and principled in her pursuit of justice and fairness for children’s rights which are today recognised globally within Save the Children. She worked with humility and integrity and of course, her wicked sense of humour. Christine was fiercely dedicated to her work and left a positive impact on thousands of vulnerable people around the world.
Christine lived a life full of joy, compassion, generosity and adventure. Whether trekking through the savanna on safari, avoiding hippos on the Zambezi, skiing on the slopes of Fernie BC, or paddling on emerald lakes, Christine would always have a smile in her heart while displaying an incredible zest for life. She has inspired many to live life to its fullest each and every day; she was the epitome of living large. Christine will be deeply missed by her family and countless friends and colleagues from around the globe.
The family would like to thank everyone from around the world for your condolences and for all the beautiful memories of Christine that you have shared.
Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be held at a later date with details to be promulgated when finalized. Memorial tributes can be left at https://www.choicememorial.com/obituaries . Any charitable donations to organizations protecting children or animals would be greatly appreciated.
March 11th, 1955 – January 14th, 2021
It is with profound sadness that the family of Christine Lipohar announces her peaceful passing in Calgary Alberta after a courageous battle with cancer. Christine is survived by siblings Susan, Steve (Sue), Mick and Peter, nieces Rose and Sara, and nephews Jacob and Nicholas. She was predeceased by parents Stefan and Margarete Lipohar, sister Anita and nephew Isaac.
Christine spent her teenage years in Port Dover, Ontario where she formed lifelong friendships with incredible people. Her love for animals resulted in her attending Centralia College in Huron Park, where she graduated as an Animal Health Technician. She worked in a veterinary clinic in Sault Saint Marie Ontario and shortly thereafter was hired back at Centralia College. As an instructor, she spent the next three fun years as a beloved teacher shaping and influencing the lives of many young eager students. She eventually joined the London Ontario’s University Hospital medical research team where she worked to help pioneer and establish the research operating room. She carved out and advanced the role of Animal Health Technicians in an extremely important capacity for the ethical and humane use of animals in ground-breaking organ transplant research which continues today as a world-respected surgical research and teaching unit. After ten years Christine joined the hospital administration as a Service Coordinator for the hospital running budgets and supply management initiatives for inpatient and outpatient surgical services.
In 1994 Chris felt a calling to travel to Africa to help in whatever capacity with the Rwandan refugee crisis. She left for three months and during her time away fell in love with Africa, its people and the extraordinary international individuals who dedicate their lives to this line of work. Suffice to say, she found her true calling. It was during this time that she knew she would stay in Africa and so began her humanitarian child protection work with GOAL. She went on to work in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Save the Children and in West Africa across Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Cote D’Ivoire as a roving child protection advisor during and following the conflict. Whilst in West Africa, she worked on family tracing, reunifying children and parents who lost each other during the war, and with children who had been forced to become child soldiers or child sex slaves, helping them deal with the after-effects of the abuse and reintegrating them back into normal life. Christine was one of the original staff members who identified the abuse by humanitarian workers that was taking place against children and families in displaced and refugee camps across West Africa in the early 2000s.
Christine also worked as a regional child protection advisor for Southern Africa working with families decimated by HIV and AIDS and with children and young people to reduce their vulnerability and increase prevention and protection against HIV. Christine then moved to her beloved Zimbabwe to work as the child protection advisor for the Zimbabwe country office during the days of trillion-dollar Zimbabwe notes, hyper-inflation and increasing poverty and vulnerability for children. During this time she achieved her Master in International Child Welfare in the UK. Christine was innovative; in addition to the usual child protection work, she came up with ideas on how to reduce child separation, particularly during the huge cholera outbreak in 2008 when children were separated from their parents when being admitted to the cholera treatment centres. She then worked for Save the Children US and Save the Children International as a child protection advisor across the globe deploying to numerous countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific region.
Wherever there was a challenge or an emergency affecting children rights, Christine was ready to go. She worked in a range of different contexts that included conflict settings, natural disasters, displaced communities and fragile states. She carried out ground-breaking work in child protection and child safeguarding. Many of the colleagues she has mentored over the years are now leading their own child protection programmes. Christine has had a massive and far-reaching impact on countless children and their families in so many countries. She was passionate and principled in her pursuit of justice and fairness for children’s rights which are today recognised globally within Save the Children. She worked with humility and integrity and of course, her wicked sense of humour. Christine was fiercely dedicated to her work and left a positive impact on thousands of vulnerable people around the world.
Christine lived a life full of joy, compassion, generosity and adventure. Whether trekking through the savanna on safari, avoiding hippos on the Zambezi, skiing on the slopes of Fernie BC, or paddling on emerald lakes, Christine would always have a smile in her heart while displaying an incredible zest for life. She has inspired many to live life to its fullest each and every day; she was the epitome of living large. Christine will be deeply missed by her family and countless friends and colleagues from around the globe.
The family would like to thank everyone from around the world for your condolences and for all the beautiful memories of Christine that you have shared.
Cremation has taken place and a celebration of life will be held at a later date with details to be promulgated when finalized. Memorial tributes can be left at https://www.choicememorial.com/obituaries . Any charitable donations to organizations protecting children or animals would be greatly appreciated.