Christen Lynn Dembinski

On the evening of June 27th, Christen Lynn Dembinski of Chandler, Arizona, passed away at the way too young age of 43. She is survived by her loving Husband John Levy, her brothers and sisters Margaret, Bill, Susan, Jennifer, and Jonathan, as well as her father Leo and his wife Joy, and her children Eric, Nicole, and Aaron. She will be joining her mother Mary Kathleen who also passed far too young, 20 years ago February, in heaven.

Christen’s impact on this World, in our lives, and in the Phoenix area will be sorely missed as a wife, a family member, a friend, and as a member of the business community as well. As her mentor and a pillar of the banking community explains:

Christen’s professional career was spent entirely in banking where she established a stellar reputation.  Having studied at Cambridge, and graduating Santa Clara University, she was hired at Bank One in 1999 by a fellow Xavier alum.  She was a favorite among both internal bank employees and outside clients, attorneys and other vendors. She was always willing to take on whatever project needed to be done and did so with a positive attitude. She found the best in everything and everyone.

Christen was eager and willing to take on new tasks.  Whenever teams, or task forces were being created, everyone wanted Christen in their group.  She was fun and brought a good sense of humor to everything she did.  She was resourceful, and could always be counted on to get the job done. She was a trooper and MVP teammate.

Few people knew as much about sports as Christen.  This along with her friendly personality, professional expertise, and genuine care for others, made her a real asset on client calls and events.  She was involved with coordinating the Bank’s client golf tournament for many years.

Christen was a collaborative worker.  She made work easier for everyone and therefore was loved and admired by everyone.

Full of affection, energy and love, she was everyone’s favorite Auntie, even in her twenties, and literally grew up with all of the children. She had relationships with all of her nieces and nephews and genuinely got to know them as the individuals they are, and treated them with respect, and not just “kids,” as adults often do. As some have noted:

Her love and light will live on forever. She made me the happiest child, and made my life so easy and so fun, and I thank her for giving me that endless love.

She was the perfect Aunt and I cherish our relationship. She meant the World to me and I love her so so so much!

I am going to miss seeing her and making new memories with her, she was a huge part of all of our lives and will be missed. She is with Grandma now looking down on all of us together, and are still with us in our hearts.

As a friend, one would have to wonder if there could be a better one. She was a best one to Many, including her husband whom she was friends with for a few years before they dated.

As some friends including him have noted: I will always remember the kindness and openness from her. Her Empathy and her kind heart. She could light up the room, and apparently Hit 3 pointers at the buzzer too!. Brilliant, kind, hilarious at times! It is Hard to Imagine anyone that didn’t meet her that didn’t come to love her! She Inspired me. All were lucky to have known her. She enhanced others lives, but was always unassuming and rarely if ever asked for much of anything, she was a better listener than talker…except for a few, but basically, she was as much as one can be, the perfect friend.

Lastly, she was a wonderful wife, and the best friend to her husband, as noted:

I can not express in any true form how devastated and shocked I am, she was everything to me, the love of my life, yes, but also the person I would share not just everything meaningful with, but also all the little things. When we first got together, we would joke that we were “partners in crime,” that we felt guilty in stealing all the fun that life had to offer and enjoying for ourselves…the selfish pleasures of a couple in love. I only wish we could steal some more time together, she was taken from me, from all of us, too soon.  Rest in Peace my Darling Christen.