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Personal eulogy: 

By Kari Kelly Scoggins, Chris’ wife, partner, lover, adventurer, friend, spiritual partner and soul mate.

Chris was a devoted father to five sons: Mateo and Josh, whom he shared with Linda Scoggins, and Jeb, Justin, and Christopher, whom he shared with Roxanne Scoggins. Chris also opened his heart to four more children—Zanna Wolfgang, Alaina Vann, Brittney Snavely, and Gregory Kelly—whom he lovingly embraced as his own over nearly 30 years with his partner, Kari Kelly Scoggins.  He gave his heart and soul to all that chose to be around him.  His gentle voice, his gentle touch, gentle love, vibrated through all of our lives and will forever be in our hearts.  

Chris's legacy lives on in his children and their families. His sons—Mateo, Josh, Jeb, Justin, and Christopher—continue to carry forward his love and wisdom. Mateo, along with his ex-wife Paula and their children Bela and Ren, holds his memory close. Josh, always the loving uncle, remains a steadfast presence in the lives of all his nieces and nephews. Jeb, with his ex-wife Victoria and their children Tru and Kaia, remembers his father with unwavering love. Justin, married to Ohn, continues the family’s tradition of kindness and strength. Christopher, too, is a loving son and uncle, keeping the family bond strong.

Chris was also a devoted stepfather to his extended family. He embraced Zanna Wolfgang and her husband, Jeff, as his own, cherishing his grandsons, Kolton and Kyler Wolfgang. He adored Alaina Vann and her husband, Mark, and their daughters, Ava, Addy, and Audryna. He welcomed Brittney Snavely and her husband Gevan, along with their daughter, Emelia, into his heart. And he embraced Gregory Kelly and his partner, Kenzie Miller, and their daughter, Indigo, with the same love.

Chris's love knew no bounds, and his spirit will forever live on in the hearts of all his children, grandchildren, and those whose lives he touched.

@WonderingandMystified     chris youtube channel

Song for Christopher was created and song by Michael Cox.  Thank you and Love you!

Personal eulogy: The story of Chris Scoggins, as told by his oldest son, Mateo Scoggins.

I am from this man, and his parents Tyrey Ford and Cecily. And from my mother Linda Scoggins, and her parents, James and Gladys.  But this man is my father, this is large and potent. He was a macho man. He was of his time, was formed and forged by the winds of change, the forces of history and culture. Chris truly couldn’t have happened without the very specific things that were happening in the world in his life.  Maybe that’s true of all of us, but he seems to have been particularly infused, inspired, and enlightened by the 60’s and 70’s and the generational shifts that were happening.  The early things I know included southern California, surfing, rebellion, horses, bridge, billiards, searching and a focus on experience. He was the eldest son of an old California family, high expectations, privilege, and golden horizons.  

Freedom looms large in my experience with Chris.  He very much wanted, even needed, to have freedom in and around him. He exuded an infectious spirit of freedom, of open choices, a very strong lack of borders and constraints.  He colored outside the lines.  My feeling is that Chris held this value very strongly as a young person and maintained it throughout his life with the same vigor and boundlessness. Freedom of movement, freedom of expression, freedom of thought, freedom of choice, it was so important to him.  I have this in me, not sure if it is genetic or just watching and being with him.  It’s a different version, but I see it in myself, and see it as one of the throughlines from Chris, expanding outward.  The sky isn’t the limit, there is no limit.  

One of the important things about Chris, particularly true for his children, but probably for many others, is that Chris lived his lessons.  He demonstrated freedom, independence, joy, spirit, with everything he did.  He didn’t teach it, he didn’t ask or expect it from anyone.  His way was quieter, more open and flowing, not a lot of structure to it. He taught his kids by giving them books to read.  He was not didactic, never talked about what others should or shouldn’t be doing, not judgmental or critical. He made things up as we went along, including the names of his kids, which he insisted on waiting until he could see them, feel them. This open-ended approach was impressive, and pure, but could be hard for some people, especially if they were scared, insecure, or craved stability, as was the case for me.  

Chris was a very physical person, a person who moved his body through life effortlessly.  If you ever saw him with tools in his hands, in the water, skiing, playing tennis, guitar, his grace and fluidity were obvious. His ease and comfort in his body. He never talked about this, I have never talked about this, but I know this because I watched him and it sunk in and impressed me in a very deep way.  Late in my life, I can look back on these impressions and see the consistency, the import of this for him, the power of physicality, strength and skill.  Chris was a builder, he made complex physical things.  He was never a craftsman, he didn’t have the patience or focus for that, but he built so many things, invested so much in expressing himself in the world through structures, places and products. I wonder often if that itch got scratched for him, and he built enough things? 

Chris was a mystic, a dreamer, and a philosopher.  While he was building and living physically in the world, he was also making music, art, love and thinking long and hard about why.  My experience was that this deep curiosity got more and more intense throughout his life. More and more he was looking for something else, some answers that would clarify, that would enlighten.  It sounds like religion, but it was never that.  It was a quest, but for something inside of him.  As an innocent bystander, I was critical, and even mean, about the leaps of faith, the wild swings of resources and energy.  They bewildered me, confused me, and left me feeling like I needed to run away. He was very brave spiritually, philosophically and artistically and it’s sometimes hard for those of us less brave, less clear, less open, to keep up. 

When one brings together freedom, grace, intellect, confidence and some California privilege, you get a special kind of rebellion and independence. You get an iconoclast, I think.  Chris was fearless about repercussions, confident about the future and his path, quietly righteous.  He was also reckless, selfish, and immune to external input. He made his own bed, his own world, his own universe, and we intersected with it here and there.  The funny thing is that as his son, I was so impressed by this, so hurt by this, that I am constantly trying to disentangle the powerful myths that Chris created from the love that he so clearly held for all of us.  

And that love was very large.  Chris loved largely, deeply and fully.  He was so warm and loving when you were in his glow, so sweet and charming. He loved all of us, and I know that, could feel that, whenever we found each other. That was the hard part, because his light could only shine on one thing at a time, and he had a lot of things that he loved.  He was a true optimist, always seeing the positive, always making the best of every situation.  He never planned much, or was particularly prepared, but his enthusiasm and positivity made it all OK.   When we would go camping, if it was cold or raining, he would bundle us up with old, oiled tarps, like a very tight burrito. And I felt safe.  

From old families in Calusa and Las Angeles California, there is a throughline, from Scoggins and Snipes, from my father, to me and my brothers, and to my children.  From our family, we get these little puzzle pieces that we hardly even notice as kids, parts of us that express themselves slowly and strongly as we mature and form up.  Chris taught us we were our own selves, fully alive and alone in the world, impervious to history or culture.  It is a good thing to have that kind of confidence, that kind of independence. But when I look at who my dad was, and all the ways I reflect and have integrated him, and his father and mother, and how they made him, and how he made me, and how my kids have Chris in them, it is so clear that we are tied to the past, it is embodied in us, and we pass this on to the future.  Chris wouldn’t want to talk about it, but he made me who I am, his life and his way are very alive in me, in my kids, and in the network of family and connections that we all make.