RIP Chris Wallace
Chris Wallace was the man who died on the fire at Utah’s Element11 regional burn on Saturday. His family have started an online campaign to help pay for the funeral and end of life costs. They have asked that rather than sending flowers or condolences, the best thing the Burner community could do would be to help out with a donation of $35 (or whatever you can afford to give).
Burners in Utah can also go to a public fundraiser on Friday the 18th, a Gallery Show from 6-8pm at Mod-A-Go-Go, 242 E South Temple Salt Lake City. This is being put on by Chris’ wife’s sister.
John Christopher Wallace passed on Saturday July 12th unexpectedly. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to help his wife pay for a funeral & end of life costs.
Chris was a great person with wide impact. On Saturday July 12th, Chris passed from this world at the “Burning Man” Element 11 event in Utah. His wife and family are still dealing with the shock and sadness of this news.
Chris did not have life insurance, and any funds you may be able to contribute toward his funeral, and end-of-life costs is a great blessing…The financial situation of his widow is VERY uncertain—no one plans for these type of tragedies, and she shouldn’t have to compare funeral plans at such a traumatic time in her life.
https://fundly.com/chris-wallace-funeral-fund-e11
This link will take anyone who is interested to a page where they can donate to Chris’s funeral, memorial, and end-of-life costs.
I’m sending this…with the hope that you can somehow give this information to the burner community, while pleading that anyone who responds to the knowledge of this link is respectful, non-speculative, and understanding that Chris’s loved ones may always be searching for closure relating to this unfortunate event.
[Chris’ wife] is going to be destitute—health issues prevent her from being able to work full time & Chris was the bread winner.
Please be respectful to the family’s wishes. If you really feel the need to radically express yourself with nasty comments or personal opinions about this tragedy, you can add them to the discussion at the original story here. I will be deleting them from this page, as Chris’s family are in more than enough pain already, and still trying to process the terrible events of the weekend.
Nothing can bring Chris back, but maybe the Burner community can help out a little, and show the family that there is more to us than snark and armchair speculation. I have checked it out, believe it to be legitimate, and have donated.
Here is a sign language interpretation of “I see Fire” dedicated to the memory of Christopher Wallace. Blessings.
Thought this was for Biggie Smalls for a second since the name was Christopher Wallace.
Good luck and be strong! Losing someone close is never easy.
Thanks, E11 community. From the depths of my heart… THANK YOU!!!
you’re welcome. Most of the people here, and I suspect most of the people who donated, are part of the broader global Burner community, and have never even been to Element11. Burners have shown that we care, and there’s more to us than just snark in the name of self-expression. Thankyou to all Burners who helped out, even if it was just with a supportive comment.
burnersxxx – thanks for posting this up & the due diligence behind it.
you’re welcome – and I appreciate the thanks. I’m so proud of our community for coming together so rapidly and giving so generously in this time of tragedy.
Amy, Stephanie, and other family members, condolences. And, anyone at Element 11, also. burnersxxx, thank you for posting this link to share, we are joining many of the Burner community with a small contribution. And, thank you for providing a space for many to process this tragedy, in despite of some comments not being of the Burnerly spirit. A person, whom was loved, died.
I would like to make a huge shouted THANK YOU to this community for rallying around Chris, Elisabeth his widow, and their family—immediate & extended. I am overwhelmed by the outreach. Thank you for your emotional support, financial support to help Elisabeth get Chris’s affairs in order, and kind words. Although I can’t see all of you face to face, please know that every dollar you have donated has brought tears to my eyes. I am so grateful for your charity & compassion.
glad we could help, Amy.
Amy, do you have any idea why?
No, I don’t. I believe Chris’s immediate family is still waiting for the final report by the authorities before making an official opinion. We are all still reeling with the knowledge that this has happened.
If there ever was a moment where I felt the true nature of Burning Man can help it is now, unfortunately I suspect we outside of the States can’t contribute, can anyone help with that?…
there is a checkbox on the left of the donation page for “not in the US”
Amy, is there anyway we can no more about Chris, who he was, what he did, his connection to the Burning Community etc? As many are very touched by this tragedy, I think it would also help for us to know this person a little more, if even just the basics. I am so sorry for how horrible thsi must be and thank you for stepping up to help.
I wish I could give you better answers, but I really knew Chris because his widow was one of my best friends as a child. I’m related to him through marriage. Chris attended Element 11 with friends, good friends, who would be far better qualified to answer your questions than I.
It feels weird to nominate myself, but he was my friend, and I might as well say something and not leave you hanging here. Maybe other people will get something out of it as well.
I’m a burner, many of our mutual friends were burners, but my friendship with him (and his wife) was outside of that context. He was smart and well-informed, clever and funny. He was always well-put-together, always showed up well-dressed, in that way that makes you ask yourself, “hey, he looks great, why don’t I put a little more effort in?” There was a lot that I admired about him. I never got to meet his family, just him and his wife. I don’t know much about what he did at his job; he always had more interesting things to talk about than work. He was always ready to share things he liked with people he liked; music, movies, books. I first saw “The Room” with him, at his insistence.
He made music and visual art. The visual art I remember best, because I sincerely liked it, and I’m too picky to automatically like art just because I like the person who made it. He made strange, other-worldly 3D collages from fashion photography, old anatomy illustrations and technical photographs and drawings which he photographed with a very short depth of field, leaving much of the imagery out of focus, but isolating a particular figure. It was strong and engaging. It reminded me of the work of stop motion artists like Jan Svankmajer or the Brothers Quay, or the collage art that came out of the dadaist movement, from artists like Raoul Hausmann and Hannah Höch. That seems like the easiest thing to share… a person is hard to capture with a description; art is a little easier.
Beyond that, I don’t know what else to say. He was a good friend. His wife is one of the sweetest people I have ever met in my life. I thought I was going to have a lot more time with the two of them, but I’m grateful for the time we had.
Thanks for sharing N. Our condolences for the loss of your friend. He sounds like he was a lovely guy.
Here is his professional Linkedin page. This might help to know more about him.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwallace56
I have some concern that this Amy Naseath that put up this Fundy page isn’t actually associated with Chris or his widow. Can any make sure that this fundraising page is legitimate?
I’ve done that.
May I ask how so I can rest assured I’ve donated money to the correct place?
I’ve been in touch with Chris’s wife’s sister and cousin, who have provided me with her name and personal details that only the family would know. I’ve done a background check on Amy. We have some friends in common who are honest and good people. That was enough for me to put this site’s reputation – as smeared by BMorg as it might be – on the line over this, as well as spend my own money.
Thank you.
Mark, I’ve been vetted by the website administrator of this burners.me site. Talk to him if you’d like to know the particulars.
Amy thank you and I’m sorry to have bothered you. I was unaware that you where a cousin. This has been so tragic for everyone.
No worries Mark. If I were in your shoes I’d want to verify I was donating to a legitimate source as well so that my money would end up where I wished it to. Thank you for your concern & well wishes.
It is with heartfelt reverence and reluctance that I post this. My condolences to all and appreciation for the moderator. There is a line above “no one plans for these type of tragedies” – I have built my career the last 10 years planning for the unexpected so that these tragedies can be less tragic. I use the income I get from such planning to donate back to my local burner community and other projects. I disclose that this post could come off as self serving- but it is with utmost sincerity and humility that I offer my services to plan ahead for any out there that are feeling a wake up call or for those in the situation to help figure things out. Chris’s widow (or fundraiser) I will help you pro-bono. Everyone else- I get paid a lot to help with insurance and planning and will donate at least 10% of my first year commission at your request to this cause. Please contact me directly 860 384 7483.
A very positive way for the Burn community to step up, help, and give meaning to the term “community” in light of this tragedy. I will be adding funds to my bank account to give what I can, and my heart goes out to his family. Thank you Burners.Me for providing a link to share.
A nice way for the community to give back. I’m in
Thank you for providing a way for people to act meaningfully and with kindness.