Chris Withers

Chris was a truly kind man. My abiding memory of him will be his laugh and smile. His courage of his convictions and his charitable heart were both huge I will always remember watching him walk over hot coals for St Basil's looking back waiting for me to follow.

Words may not suffice to express the heartfelt sorrow that I feel for the passing of Chris. A valued colleague and friend he always had a glint of mischief in his eye whenever we worked together. A natural disruptor who took on challenges with no fear and was always looking for the humanity in everything he did, please accept my condolences.

I'd like to offer my heartfelt condolences to Chris's family and friends. I've worked with Chris fleetingly here at UoB, but it is very clear that he had developed many valued friendships over the years and will be a loss to many both professionally and personally. It is immensely sad to lose someone so young and I hope that those closest to Chris can take comfort in memories of their times spent together.

I've worked with Chris on a number of projects at the University and always found him to be friendly and approachable, and willing to explain the tech to me being from outside of IT Services. I was saddened to hear of his passing and I'm thinking of his family, friends and colleagues at this time.

Your warmth, enthusiasm and creativity shone through time and time again, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to work with you, even briefly. You will be sorely missed, Chris.

A truly kind and humble soul, Chris was always friendly and willing to help and advice in anyway he can. I followed his social media stories with awe. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.

Chris used to wear a t-shirt that said "With great beard comes great responsibility". His beard was certainly epic and in due course his responsibilities also grew as he became our boss as Web and Digital Team Manager. Like everything else he did, Chris threw himself into his new role. His enthusiasm, for everything from coding to rock climbing, paragliding to vegan cooking, sci-fi and fantasy fiction to eco-activism, was unstoppable. He leapt on every new idea or interest with a passion that few could match and wanted to know all that there was to know about his new hobby. He was generous with his knowledge and would share it with anyone who showed an interest (and sometimes with people who hadn't!).

As a manager, he was empathic and sensitive to the needs of his team and sought to foster an environment where individuals could develop and shine. He'd grown into the role and would doubtless have had a great career in management. For all his boundless enthusiasm, he was a quietly modest man. Often the most interesting person in the room but seldom the loudest.

The shock of his sudden passing has been devastating. My deepest condolences go out to his wife and daughters. Amidst his myriad interests, his family were his number one priority and he spoke often of them and his hopes for their futures.

Chris was certainly one of a kind. We will miss him (and his great beard) desperately.

I would like to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Chris. He was a kind person who always brought a lot of energy to his job and those around him. Will always remember the first time i met Chris, as I had a mental picture of what he looked like from the org chart and when presented with a guy with a huge beard i had to double check it was the correct person which both of us found funny at the time. You will be missed by everyone Chris.

I really didn't know Chris that well as I'm new to the I.T department, however it is a true testimony to a person who is able to make such a profound impact to someones life in a short time. I was lucky enough to have Chris as my line manager, as a Junior Developer I was nervous about starting a new role however Chris was with me throughout the onboarding process and was super relaxed, welcoming and truly made me feel at ease with his calm empathetic nature...I guess he'd been in my position before once. Working from home I'll have fond memories of him stroking his cat on his lap whilst we conversed. I guess if I had to sum him up in one word it would be 'an awesome guy'. He was recently on annual leave and when I asked him about mine he really emphasized the importance of it... Lastly,I'll remember during our final conversation about programming and the evolution of the website...he was so enthused...I'm so glad I met him. My condolences go out to his family you're in my prayers.

I have worked with Chris on various projects and he was always friendly, helpful and a great problem solver. Being our boss he always encouraged us to learn new things and was always happy to lend a helping hand whenever we asked.

He was empathetic and always helped us whenever there was any personal or professional crisis. He was passionate about so many things and managed to do all of them.

The news of his sudden demise is utterly shocking . My deepest condolences go out to his wife and daughters, about whom he had talked in lengths in our office room. He certainly will be missed dearly by us all. Work place won't be same for us without him.

About five years ago, I was paired with Chris to develop a microsite for the Strategic Framework on the Intranet. This exercise primarily involved us working through the agonising process of ensuring that all stakeholders got the precise menu colour they most desired. It was the first time I'd ever worked with Chris, and I just remember him being so calm and good-natured throughout the project, always happy to fix problems and answer my stupid questions. That was the last time I worked with him directly, though I occasionally saw him again in the odd meeting. Although I didn't know him well, he always seemed such a gentle, mild-mannered, lovely guy, and I was deeply saddened to learn about his tragic and untimely passing. I offer my thoughts and condolences to Chris's family and close friends.

Chris was a gentle and humble soul. He was always happy and willing to help colleagues.

The shock of his sudden demise has been devastating and difficult to accept. He will be sorely missed

My deepest condolences go out to his wife and daughters.

Total shock that someone who lived life to the full and at times on the edge (literally paragliding). Loved his enthusiasm for life and his passion and commitment and activism for veganism, the climate and justice for all. My deepest condolences to Tamsyn and the girls

I am new to the team and thus, did not know Chris. I could tell by the grief and sadness experienced by those colleagues who knew Chris for a number of years that he was greatly respected and loved. May these fond memories of him be what sustains all who are grieving his loss. Of course this process never ends, but may these fond memories help.

My prayers and encouragement go out to Chris' family as well as other friends and UoB team members.

Blessings and Good Will to you all

Chris was a good colleague and a good friend. We worked well together but what I will miss most is chatting with him about stuff - be it the things he was passionate about or the things I am passionate about or just things. He enjoyed conversing and, although he was definitely a man of conviction, he never made you feel like he did not respect your point of view. I learned much from him and will miss him greatly. Sending my deepest condolences to his wife and children/

I am really sad to hear the news of Chris's untimely passing. We only touched base in a limited way in relation to work projects when I was with Application Operations in IT Services but I always enjoyed his contributions to the banter in the staff room and his great enthusiasm for life (and his work!). He was held in high regard by his immediate colleagues that was very clear. Cheated out of retirement and a life that should have been much longer, he packed a great deal into the time that he had; an example to us all. My thoughts are with his family and friends at this sad time.

I was deeply saddened to hear of Chris' passing. Whilst our paths did not cross much but Chris was always friendly and helpful when they did. Sending my sincere condolences to Chris' wife and daughters.

It was a great shock to hear of Chris's passing when I was visiting an old friend in Scotland, Dawn Petherick, who was also an old colleague of Chris's. We spent time most days remembering him. He was a lovely man, genuine and caring and will be missed by many many people. My condolences to his wife and family. Hopefully in time you will find joy in the memories and knowing that he was liked and respected by so many people.

I will really miss Chris. I'll miss working with him on shaping his team and helping him develop into a great manager which he had the potential to be. Most of all I'll miss our weekly meetings. We'd often drift from work issues to talk about his ideas about diet, gardening, outdoor pursuits of which he had many. Unlike many people who share these interests Chris always seemed to be putting his ideas into action. He was active in all the meanings of the term, whether that was getting out and trying new things or trying to make the world a better place through active participation in issues that he believed in. I hope people can take some comfort in the fact he packed his life so full of the things he loved doing. However, it still seems such a cruel blow that his life was cut so short when he had so much to offer his family, his friends, the community and the planet.

I remember the first time I met Chris, not the actual meeting or what was discussed but I remember thinking “what an epic beard!”. That memory will always make me smile. Chris was always helpful, willing to listen and made time to try and understand where you were coming from. I’m shocked and saddened by his passing. My deepest condolences to his family and friends.

I'm so sorry to have just heard the news of Chris' sad passing. He was such a genuine, helpful and curious colleague, always someone who made hard projects that bit more possible; a rare gift. My sincerest condolences to his wife and family.