Hi Jude,
Tesser here. What fun we had!! We all loved Chris …
I met your Mum when she moved to London and thankfully moved in with my friend Sarah Lafferty in St Stephens Gardens on the strength of Sarah’s ad in Time Out magazine. Their signature colour was red!
I met your Dad when he arrived on the scene shortly after Alexei Leveneintroduced him to your Mum and saw their relationship and love deepen.
I was at Chris’s 40th when he proposed to Simone, at their New Yearwedding, at the concert in Hyde Park when your Mum was expecting you and Sir Paul McCartney sang ‘Hey Jude’ and saw the joy your arrival brought.
Your Dad was one of the funniest, kindest, most empathic and warm men I’ve ever met. He lived large, always had fun on the way, loved a party and was an incredibly loyal generous friend who would go out of his way to help.
He could laugh at anything, most often himself, and certainly had plenty of material!! His self-deprecating humour, however often hid his intelligence and deep insight into people which was one of his biggest skills.
These pictures were taken at your Dad’s first Notting Hill carnival at our favourite sound system – KCC and the Rocking Crew. Your Mum and Dad always used to go away to avoid being besieged by revellers, but you could tell Chris had a hankering to revel and we finally managed to convince him to come one year, wasn’t too hard!!
That’s Nick Evans in the photo of the two of them with your Dad sporting my white shades. The group from left to right is me, my sailing friend Lindsay, Nick, your Dad and Crispin Gordon.
We had a blast and we adored Chris, much as we adore you and your Mum. I loved our dance party, I can see where you get it from,
Big love,
TxXx

Dear Jude,
It’s Doctor Fi here and I have been struggling to put into words how utterly devastated I am about your Dad being taken away from us so young. I sincerely wish I could have prevented it. He was a brave, kind, generous, funny guy who, as you can tell from all these posts, was loved by everyone and loved you and your mum very, very much.
Life is so unfair and I wish he was still around to take you to the park and give you big hugs and watch you grow up. What I think you can take away from this is that your Dad was an utter gentleman and a seriously cool man with a very deep heart. He will always win the ‘best fancy dress prize’, in my eyes, and the ‘funniest stories prize’ too – one I heard about a skiing holiday and a prize he won on several days made me cry with laughter!
I hope we can all tell you loads more fantastic stories over the years- I have a few good ones about your mum as well who was my ‘pasture’ buddy one night in Hampshire! Let’s get the roof down on the car soon and don’t press the red button….
Love Fi xxxx

Hi Jude, like many have mentioned already, it’s been really difficult to put ‘pen to paper’ about your wonderful, warm, one-of-a-kind, father, but I’ll try my best.

I met your dad when we were both at Business Objects. Chris was part of my global Alliance team leading our EMEA organization. From the moment I met Chris I liked him – he was smart, funny, successful and our business partners LOVED him. In business it’s important to work hard, bring value and know what your’e doing, but it’s also important to build relationships and Chris was phenomenal at that. The best I’ve ever worked with and the most impressive thing was that he was so genuine and that’s why everyone loved working with him.

Hi Jude & Simone
It’s so difficult to know where to start to describe Chris! His sense of fun and mischief are well known to all his friends many of whom have already described so many of those adventures enjoyed with him. We all have many more stories to share but I will now try and share those that stand out in my memory, but I look forward to sharing many more with you in person, as you grow up……

As with everyone that has posted here, your Dad and I were great friends and over the years have gotten into many scrapes together but the thing I will always remember is his legendary ability to connect people and just how very kind he was to everyone….always. There are few better lessons for any of us to learn.

Hi Jude,

I met Chris about 12 years ago, while I was living in Sydney and he was based out of Singapore and we both worked for Business Objects. I don’t remember the day we met, but I do know that there wasn’t a visit to Sydney after, that we didn’t go out and do something fun together. Chris loved connecting people. He was a mingler that’s for sure! I’ve met some great people through Chris, including Adrian, Nick, Karen and Julian, and of course, your mum, Simone. Chris was so good at staying in touch – phone, skype, in person. Your dad was a very good friend, and wherever we moved to in the world, he was always there for me if I needed him.

Dear Jude,
Unfortunately, we’ve never met, but I (like many of the people that have posted on this site) first met Chris at Aston University in 1988. We were on the same engineering course and became good friends almost immediately. We used to buddy up for coursework and we both worked for Shell in Chester for our industrial placement year (where we shared a house). We were given the nicknames “White Bread” and “Brown Bread” as we were the “sandwich” students!

As I’m sure you’ve gathered from all the other memoirs, time spend with Chris was always incredibly exciting, fun and spontaneous. I’ll never forget a very drunken weekend in Stoke where I think I learnt every rude Stoke FC song there was. We ended up staying with your great-granddad which was another unforgettable experience. Then there was the day he went out to buy a pot plant and came back with a computer (which in 1988 was a rare thing). I also will never forget a weekend spent in a static caravan in north Wales where he tried to teach me to say “Axminster carpets” while burping. And another day where we spent more than 8 hours changing the car horn on a red fiat panda that he had borrowed from your granddad. In fact, (as everyone has testified) most of the times spent with Chris were unforgettable. There are so many stories (not all involving alcohol), but most of them will have to wait until you’re older!

Hello Jude, you are one special child. The apple of your Dad’s eye and much, much loved by him. Here’s your father at my birthday party with my husband and his brother. We loved your Dad. We met him when he moved into the house opposite us in Camberley and became our neighbour. The day he moved in he came to say hello and stayed for five hours, we all got on so well. I got him two cats soon afterwards, Fibber and Charlie and Chris had such a big heart that despite only wanting one- he took on two rescued homeless brothers who couldn’t be seperated. We laughed til we cried on many occasions together and you should know by now from all the other posts here, that Chris was a brilliantly funny storey teller and things that were hilarious, just kept happening to him. Our favourites were the time he scalded a friend at Unni, on the back of his hand, by touching him with a teaspoon he had just stirred his hot tea with. In shock the hand knocked the teaspoon flying into someone’s face and knocked their front tooth out, a tooth that your Dad had to pay for! ..a practical joke gone wrong but so funny in the re-telling.
The the time he hugged the bride in the wedding line up and spilled a whole pint of beer down the back of her wedding dress……(apologies if said bride reads this but it’s a true classic). He loved my stories about passengers on my flights and always wanted to hear them….being such a traveller himself. For my party, I sent your Dad a message saying I needed someone to stay up all night with me and watch the sunrise with….and I got back “I am that man!” Bless Chris.
We can’t believe we will not sit down together again in this world. This has hit us all hard Jude, your poor Mum and you most of all. Jerry and I have been so upset by this loss. …Jude, for your Dad…..we are here for you….always, Regan and Jerry. Xxxxxx

Dear Jude
I first met your Dad at University in Aston.
He immediately marked himself out in my mind as someone who was determined to be at the centre of everything and not to miss a thing.
This proved to be an enduring trait and your Dad was forever bemoaning the fact that he was double, triple or quadruple-booked. People wanted him with them and he wanted to be there – but there just weren’t enough Chris Elsmores to go around!
Whenever I heard that Chris was going to be at one of the many get-togethers we had since leaving University it always made me look forward to it even more. He was someone you wanted to be in the company of – as others have already said he was the life and soul.
The number of tributes to Chris from family, friends and colleagues is testament to the warmth, fun, laughter, generosity and light he brought wherever he was.
That’s why I’ll miss Chris, and why I’m writing these words with a lump in my throat, – but it’s also why I always smile when I think of him.
I guess Chris’s love of life is a lesson for all of us – including I hope for you too Jude. Don’t just have a life….live a life as fully and as completely as you can.
My love and thoughts to you and your Mum.

As I was thinking about what to write about all the good times I’ve had with Chris over the years and in our business travels, I realized it would be impossible to pick out just one. Chris was always ready with a smile, funny story or recommendation and always seemed to have a few friends to introduce you to in any city or country he was in. I’ve was fortunate to have great times with Chris in Canada, the US, Mexico, Singapore, Australia, London, Italy… and probably a few more places I can’t recall. How many people do you get to know in your life like that?
Dan

Dear Chris , last Saturday August 27th 2016, Jerry and I (finally) got married at the church at the top of the hill from where you used to live. We knew you would’ve been there if you were still with us and you and we, would’ve so enjoyed being together. It was a very personal, intimate service and you would’ve loved Cheska, our dog as our ring bearer. That would have tickled you. We would have heard you singing All You Need Is Love, along with The Beatles and the rest of us, as we left the church. At our garden reception our pianist played Hey Jude just for you and Jerry and I raised our glass to you my friend. You were sadly missed. Wish you’d been there Chris. Xxxx

Jude,
I am writing this very long overdue message to you about your Dad, partly because I didn’t exactly know how to do it, and partly because you’ve probably had so many messages and thoughts to process last year.
I knew your Dad for about 13 years. He was originally my boss, when he lived and worked for Business Objects. He was in Singapore and I was in Tokyo, Japan. Do you know where those places are? Maybe your mom can show you on a map. We ran the ‘partner business’ at the company, talking to people, building a business, making friends and colleagues, having fun, and always trying to look at the good side of life. He helped me learn about doing work well, and with an enthusiasm that would carry forward into other parts of my life. He was never short on good career advice and steadfast support, nor short on time for a team-building and morale-boosting dinner. (and drink session) Never before and not yet since, have I had a better boss or person I wanted to work with again. Someday you will know what it’s like to want to work for someone, just because of who that person is – it is a rare gem indeed when you have that opportunity in your career. Think of it like playing with your best friend – you always want to be on the same team when you play sports, right?
After we worked together for about a year and half, we remained friends. Although we were separated by a few oceans and continents, we did stay in touch, and whenever his travels took him to where I was, he always made time to meet. Same for me – I remember a few years before you were born, I was able to make a trip to London and I visited your Mom and Dad. I remember him taking me for a ‘ride’ in his super-cool sports car in the middle of the city – I thought, ‘how can someone drive like this through Notting Hill? Doesn’t everyone just walk or take a cab or the tube?’. Not your Dad – he did like to get around in style.
Chris was the reason I met my wife, Mimi. It was my birthday, March 2005, and Chris was visiting our Tokyo office, where I was based. He chose the place to go and we bumped into one of my friends who happened to be there. That friend introduced me to his friend, who later became my wife. You Dad was always the ‘social hub’. He joined my wedding in 2006 in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada (your Mom can show you where that is too!). When we asked those in the room who had traveled the farthest, you Dad came out the winner. Our only true ‘Brit’ attendee in a truly Canadian wedding party – a very diverse and colorful group. Chris and my best friend from Kindergarten were the last ones standing at the end the party. He even danced with my now sister-in-law – she said she was lucky to dance with the guy from farthest away.
Over the years, we talked about our careers, our marriages, and eventually being Dads. My son, Justin, was born only a few months after you. He is now 5 1/2 years old. Your Dad and I would talk via Skype occasionally, especially after you were just born. It’s not easy learning about how to take care of a little guy, but your Dad talked with a shine in his eye when he talked about how awesome it was to be ‘Daddy.’ When Justin was born, Chris became my ‘expert’ advisor – he told me, this one time, when Justin was not sleeping very well, that things would get better (which, of course, it did). Our family was living in Singapore then (my wife and I were not from there) and just that familiar, kind voice across the world re-assuring me that I wasn’t alone in my parental challenges helped a lot. I’m sure your Mom knows, when you’re not in your own country, it really helps to have a friendly global support network to keep you company.
Jude, I know some of this stuff might not feel very relevant right now, but as the days go on, I hope it does. I just wanted to know how much I thought of your Dad, how much I miss him (I think about him and you guys a lot), and how lucky he was to have had you and your Mom in his life. His memory will live on forever, and as you get older, I hope some of the stories from his friends and family will travel with you, wherever you are.
I hope you have a wonderful 2017, and Justin, Mimi, and I are thinking of you guys from across the world.
Also, Justin has said that if we are ever in London, or if you are where we are (in Tokyo now), he would really love to meet you. He likes soccer, lego, dinosaurs, and dancing. Maybe you’d like to play together sometime!
Much love,
John, Mimi, and Justin Stark