It is with great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved son, brother, and uncle Christopher Knutson. Chris spent his first years in Citrus Heights, California before moving to Montgomery, Texas in 2003.
Chris’s parents knew he was destined to fly from the time he was able to twirl his pacifier in his mouth like a propeller. Chris took a discovery flight at the age of 10 and knew he wanted to get his private pilot’s license. After joining Civil Air Patrol in 2007, he quickly rose through the ranks and was chosen to attend a flight camp and earn hours. While at camp, he was involved in a plane crash but did not let that deter him from doing his first solo flight the next day.
After graduating from Montgomery High School in 2010, he attended the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim Norway where he met some of his closest friends. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Chris returned to Texas to pursue his passion in aviation. He attended ATP in Conroe while working at Galaxy to become a certified flight instructor in many planes (CFI, CFII, MEI), then went on to Commute Air.
After reaching the rank of Captain at Commute Air, he made the jump to American Airlines where he was First Officer on an Airbus A320. Chris will always be known for his laidback demeaner (from his dad), tenacious attitude (from his mom), the famous Freese mouth (from his Grammie), and his wicked smile that made his eyes sparkle. He was a passionate animal lover and had a special relationship with animals.
He loved his adopted dog Loki – his complete opposite. Chris was also the only person who could freely pet his sister’s mini-mule Sassy or better known to his friends as Burrito.
He was very family-oriented and had a close relationship with every member of his family, especially his Grammie and Papa, sisters (Winnie and Kelso) and nephew (Chewie Jr), his favorite person in the whole world. Chris is preceded in death by Grandparents Ted and Marian Knutson, Great Aunts Olga Young and Clara Newberg, Cousin Ashley Madison, and childhood friend Daniel Haugaard.
