Obituary
Christopher William Stallman

Cary – Christopher Stallman, 52, died on October 24, 2023, with his wife Julie at his side, after a 10-year battle with cancer. He fought with quiet grace, and admirable strength and determination. Chris was born in Maryland on August 17, 1971 to loving parents Donald and Elizabeth (Lu) Stallman. Together with his sister Heather Stallman Forkey, the family of four navigated Navy life, living in Vienna, VA, Subic Bay, Philippines, and Garden Grove, CA, before settling back in Northern Virginia in 1980. Chris graduated from Lake Braddock Secondary School where he played soccer, excelled academically, and formed an enduring bond with the group of men who remained his dearest friends. They were an abiding source of support, humor and love for 35+ years. Chris met his wife Julie at the University of Virginia in 1990. They got married in September of 1994, and lived in Sacramento, CA and Apple Valley, MN before settling in Cary, NC in 1998, where they spent the next 25 years building a beautiful life together. Chris was a devoted father to his son Ryan and daughter Kelsey, whom he loved patiently and fiercely. He always put his family’s needs ahead of his own, especially over the past few years. Chris graduated with honors from the University of Virginia in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems. He worked as a Management Consultant for Price Waterhouse Coopers and IBM before making a move to Cisco Systems in 2006. Chris worked in multiple IT roles in his early years at Cisco before accepting a position in Human Resources and working his way up to Director, Workforce Data and Analytics. It’s in that organization where he formed the most fulfilling working relationships and personal friendships of his career. Chris’s colleagues at Cisco supported him endlessly through his battle with cancer, and he counted many of them among his closest friends. In his free time Chris was an avid runner and athlete. He played several sports as a young kid, but focused on soccer in his teens. Chris was a starting player on Lake Braddock High School’s 1988 and 1989 State Championship Soccer teams. His club team, the Force, won the Virginia State titles at the U-14, U-16 and U-19 levels. The U-19 team went on to win the East Coast Championship and advanced as far as the National semi-finals in 1989. In adulthood, Chris’s love of running turned into a full-fledged passion; in his 30’s and 40’s Chris ran seven full marathons, two ultra-marathons (a 50K and 50 mile race), two ½ Ironman races and two full Ironman races, the second of which he raced in after his initial cancer diagnosis. Chris’s other favorite past time was fishing, a love he shared with his father Don. Chris grew up fishing the Chesapeake Bay, Shenandoah River, Potomac River and Burke Lake with family and friends. In adulthood he spent many early mornings fishing locally in a neighborhood pond, and went on countless fishing trips with his dad on the Albemarle Sound in search of striper, speckled trout, red fish, flounder and white perch. Chris’s most memorable and storied fishing trip was 10 days in Kodiak, Alaska in 2009 with his dad and brother-in-law Joe, fishing for salmon and halibut. Friends and family will remember Chris as quiet, funny, sarcastic and loyal. He never failed to offer a helping hand, even during his treatments when he wasn’t feeling his best. He was known to quote old episodes of Saturday Night Live and his favorite movies almost daily. He still drove the 1993 Toyota 4-Runner that he bought the summer after he graduated from college, and wouldn’t consider of getting a new car as long as it was running. It’s still running. Chris is survived by his wife Julie, son Ryan, daughter Kelsey, parents Don and Lu, sister Heather, nephew Carson Forkey, niece Reagan Forkey and brother-in-law Joe Forkey. He is also survived by his mother-in-law Carol Thompson, sister-in-law Laurie Storch, brother-in-law Eric Storch and their children Jake and Megan, as well as sister-in-law Jill Voekler, brother-in-law Tom Voekler and their children Lily, Sam and Brooke. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully asks for donations to be made to The V Foundation. A private memorial service for immediate family was held on October 27th. A Celebration of Life, open to all, is being planned for after the holiday season.