Christine “Chris” Abshire passed away suddenly on the evening of Wednesday, November 24 at Allegiance Health in Jackson. She is survived by her parents William and Marilyn Abshire; her longtime partner Debbie Oldenburg; their sons, Jason, James and Richie; 18 grandchildren and 1 brand new great-granddaughter who Chris was able to meet before she left us. She was a friend to everyone both at HVA and in her personal life.
 

Chris had only retired from HVA in September 2009 after a long career as a HVA dispatcher and communications supervisor. Chris joined HVA when our company started on December 15, 1981 as an EMS Dispatcher after working in a similar capacity at Emergency Specialties Service (ESS) of Whitmore Lake and Horne-Vinson Ambulance of Jackson. She was promoted to Communications Supervisor in the 1990s. HVA President Dale Berry remembers Chris as a caring person who always looked out for the interests of staff members. “If you wanted to know what folks were thinking, or how a policy was affecting individual people, Chris was the person to ask. She was a compassionate person and she stood up for people when she didn’t feel their concerns were being considered,” Dale said.

Chris loved her work at HVA and missed it tremendously when her health forced an early retirement. Recently, Chris had been helping conduct interviews for new dispatchers. “This meant the world to her to be involved again with the company that was her second family,” says Debbie. Unfortunately, Chris battled diabetes and failing health both before and after her retirement. Our prayers go out to her, her family, and her loved ones.

Family and friends may leave posts on her FaceBook page. Funeral arrangements are as follows:

Viewing:

Wed., December 1, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Thurs., December 2, 2:00pm to 4:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 8:00 p.m.

Funeral Service:

Friday, December 3 at 1:00 pm.

Both the viewing and the funeral will be held at:

Burden and Son Funeral Home
1806 East Michigan Ave.
Jackson, MI 49202
(517) 784-3104

In lieu of flowers, the family prefers contributions to offset funeral expenses. Checks can be mailed to the funeral home or dropped off at one of the services.

Updates will be posted on this website as they become available.