Obituary taken from the Houston Chronicle - October 31, 2004

CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH SCHINDLER, "Chrisy Boo", born August 18th 1993, and departed October 29th 2004 for a much better place. He said good-bye Friday evening to his mother Debra, his father Joseph, his most beautiful sister Katherine and his beloved big brother Kyle, his Ma and Pa from Schulenburg, Grampy from Chicago and his Mimi in Heaven, and all of his family and friends that loved him so dearly. Chris lost the battle to mitochondrial meiosis, a rare disease that eventually caused, in his case, heart failure. Those that knew his daily routine will truly understand when we talk about his inspiration to us all. This young man all of 11 years of age had a mind of a professor. He never once complained about the medical issues that he had to deal with on a daily basis. Chris's shining light to all of us; his special gift was that he loved everyone. He loved to meet new people and visit and lived life to its fullest. Chris had a love for the outdoors. His favorite place to be was in Schulenburg followed by that evening trek to Holman Valley Steakhouse where that big bowl of homemade soup was waiting for him. He would take everyone on a tour to see his longhorns and his Herefords and don't forget about his famous cutting horse "J-Bird", and his lab puppy "Old Yeller". In his signature "cactus rope" t-shirt, his blue jeans, his straw hat and what about those blue rubber boots, and of course his cutting buckle, "Chris Schindler Future Cutter" "Mom-Dad when I grow up I'm going to be a rancher". Thanks to family and friends for all of your thoughts and prayers, especially Briarwood school, Bunker Hill Elementary, St. Cecilia's Parish, West Houston 4-H, all of his doctors and nurses at Texas Children's Hospital. Many of you received those phone calls, "Hey, this is Chris", and you stopped what you were doing and took time from your busy schedules to listen to his stories. A special thank you to his buddy Yvonne Perez. Visitation will be Sunday, October 31, 2004 from 6-9 p.m., at Earthman Hunters Creek Chapel, with a Vigil at 7:00 p.m. Funeral mass will be on Monday, November 1, 2004, at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church 11720 Joan of Arc Dr. For those that desire, the family has requested donations to be made to United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, In memory of Christopher Schindler 8085 Saltsburg Road, Ste. 201 Pittsburg, PA 15239 Attn: Toni Beasley (412)793-8077 or at www.umdf.org.