Published September 19, 2026

Link to Obituary/Service Information

Chris Smith of Avondale, PA passed away on September 15, 2026, after a short hospitalization for a stroke. He passed peacefully with loved ones at his side.  The family is grateful for the care and compassion of the medial professionals that responded to Chris.  From the EMTs (Longwood) to the Christiana Hospital ER team and the Neuro ICU teams at Christiana Hospital. Every person gave Chris amazing care.

He was an amazing father to his only daughter Phoebe.  After tragically loosing Phoebe’s mom, Chris became a dedicated single parent.  He was firm but fair.  He always had a libertarian flare and allowed for a lot of independence and was known as the fun dad.  Chris dedicated himself through good and bad times, times of plenty and times of need to raising Phoebe.  Their daily hellos and goodbyes were always punctuated with “Love you, you’re the best kid ever” and Phoebe would reply, “Love you too, best Dad ever”. Two of his proudest and happiest moments were Phoebe going to and graduating from Drexel University and Phoebe’s wedding in August of 2025.

Chris found the love of his life in Ms. Julia Wright of Avondale, PA.  Julia and Chris met, and he was “done for”.  They had a courtship for the ages.  The best vacations, awesome days in Chestertown, and afternoons on the Brandywine.  They visited the Brandywine valley wineries and supported their favorite eating establishments.  If you needed a recommendation for something new – Chris and Julia have scoped it out for you. They got engaged to be married on New Years Eve 2025 and moved in together on September 1.  Chris was a gentleman of the highest order and when he spoke of Julia to others, or spoke to her directly, one could tell that he loved, cherished, and respected her.

Chris was born on May 26, 1970, the son of Donald and Gladys Smith and grew up in Glen Mills, PA.  He honored his Mother and Father.  Chris and his Dad had a unique relationship usually centered around a dented car and his Dad’s reaction.  However, that crucible forged a tight bond and respect for one another.  Chris loved his Mom.  If she called or needed anything, he would jump into action.  They spent hours on the phone and here in Mom’s golden years, he and Julia were cheerful visitors and caretakers for his mom.  One can truly see, how full of love and care Chris was when you would see him with his parents in their later years, an example for many.

One of his earliest fond memories was playing BYC Football and playing with Bill Bergey’s son which gave him an opportunity to meet the Eagle legend at the team dinner.  Chris was a life-long resident of DELCO and proud of it.  His favorite food was a cheesesteak, and he came up with any reason to go to Wawa.  Chris was a Phillies and Eagles fan, and some of our best family memories were attending games with his brother Greg.  Chris and Greg would talk for hours about sports, politics, and religion.  Chris’s voracious reading and curiosity made him a very knowledgeable and spirited debater.

Chris was a graduate of Garnet Valley High School Class of 1989.  He embarked on undergraduate studies for filmmaking at Brooklyn College in NY.  In his junior year, he transferred to Kutztown University of Pennsylvania and completed his bachelor’s in communication and film.  His first job was dubbing and editing video which were cutting edge technologies at the time.  He became immersed in the switch from analog to digital which landed him a role building NASCAR’s ticketing system for a software company during the beginning of the Dotcom era.  Today if you buy NASCAR tickets or Dallas Mavericks tickets, your transaction runs on architecture that Chris helped to build.

Chris was proud that he went back to school in those early career years and earned his master’s of fine arts degree.  He earned an MFA in Creative Writing and Poetry from Vermont State University in Montpelier, Vermont.  A true renaissance man managing ones and zeros by day and creating and writing by night.  Chris wrote many original songs and poems and taught himself to play the guitar despite not reading music.  He was a member of DELCO Field and Stream for many years and was a strong marksman.

Chris served as CIO for the Philadelphia Charter School for a number of years, but he hit his stride when he stepped into Planet Fitness in West Chester.  He would go on to manage their Parkesburg, PA and Oxford , PA locations.  Chris prided himself on greeting the patrons by name and remembering something personal about so many of them.  In his final role he earned the licensing to sell insurance and was building a client base for Comparion Insurance Company.  He loved being with people and talking to them, and he was always present with his clients, staff, and family.  People remember Chris, not because he was handsome, slick, or famous but because if you met him – you really met him and he met you!

Chris is survived by his daughter-Phoebe and her wife Cassie; his mother-Gladys; his brother-Greg and Fatima; his nieces Chloe, Kenna and great niece Ellory; His fiancée – Julia; Cousins-Jeff, Mark, Vickie, and Karen; Second cousins – Maddy, Courtney, Shane, Tracy, Jimbo, Kristen, Ashley, TJ and Danny plus and an ever-expanding family of second great nieces and nephews.

A celebration of Chris’ life will be held on Saturday, November 7th, 2026, at Bateman-Allen Funeral Home, Brookhaven, PA.  Visitation will begin at 2 PM and the Service will start at 3 PM.  All are welcome to a reception at Greg’s home in West Chester, PA following the Service.  Directions will be provided at the funeral home.   In Lieu of Flowers please consider making a donation in Chris’s name to Tunnel to Towers  website www.t2t.org  – Helping care for families of fallen and disabled soldiers, first responders.