John Christopher Flanagan

John Christopher Flanagan John "Chris" Flanagan was born November 17, 1960 in St. Louis, Missouri. He died December 8, 2019 in Anchorage, Alaska. Chris grew up in St. Louis. He attended the St. Roch School, where his classmates knew him as "John". He made lifelong friendships at school and in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood. A natural-born athlete, Chris excelled in hockey and soccer. Once, while working as a waterboy for the St. Louis Stars soccer team, he met international soccer legend Pelé, who gave him one-on-one soccer tips. Chris went on to play soccer for Christian Brothers College High School (CBC), Mercy High School, and St. Louis Community College in St. Louis, and at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He graduated from Kaimuki High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. Chris served in the U.S. Navy from 1982-1984. While he was deployed on the U.S.S. Independence aircraft carrier in 1983, he was honored for his service in Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada. Chris was forever trying new things, going to new places, and finding ways to reimagine himself. St. Louis always remained home to him, but over the years he also lived in Hawaii, Oregon, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, the Northern Marianas Islands, and Alaska. Everywhere he lived and everywhere he went, Chris enjoyed meeting people, and he was always a kind and thoughtful neighbor. Chris was a sports fan, especially of St. Louis Blues hockey, St. Louis Cardinals baseball, and World Cup soccer. He maintained friendly sports rivalries over many years, and in 2010 he beat all his friends by correctly predicting Spain’s World Cup win. Although he never completed a post-secondary degree, Chris spent years going to college, primarily part-time. He attended St. Louis Community College, Oregon Coast Community College (Newport, Oregon), Bard College (Annandale-on-Hudson, New York), University of Alaska Southeast (Juneau, Alaska), and University of Alaska Anchorage. He studied literature, journalism, history, environmental science, and nursing. He worked in numerous industries and types of jobs, including hospitality, food service, retail, health care, real estate, transportation, manufacturing, and education. Chris’s passion was music. He played guitar and taught himself to play banjo, mandolin, keyboards, and harmonica. He wrote songs, played songs by others, and sang. In his younger days Chris played in a rock/blues band with friends called the Blueberries, which was a fond memory. Chris was predeceased by his parents David T. Flanagan and Mary Jane Flanagan (née Woodley), and his cousin Mary Therese (Woodley) Matteu. He is survived by his siblings David (and Maureen), Nancy, Tim, Mel, Eileen, and Kevin Flanagan, his loving wife Rebecca Moorman, nieces, nephews, and friends. He is interred in the Flanagan family plot at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. Obituary hosted by Inclusive Funeral Care, 773-318-1305t or www.InclusiveFuneralCare.com.

John Christopher Flanagan

November 17, 1960 - December 8, 2019