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Chris Norris
Courtesy of Norris family and Chicago Sun-Times

Christopher Norris, a father of two who died Sunday after he was caught in an avalanche on the Mary Jane side of Winter Park, was described this week by friends and family members as a great father and a selfless man.

Norris, 28, met his wife, Lynn, at Western State in Gunnison. They have two children: Indyka, 3 1/2, and Sage, 7 weeks.

He played rugby in high school near Chicago and helped the team when he returned from college on breaks, said his coach.

“He played all four years for me. He wasn’t the greatest of athletes, but he was one of those kids who never, ever quit trying,” said Jack Cushing, Mount Carmel’s rugby coach from 1988 until last year. “And when he came back from college for the summers, he was always saying, ‘What can I do for you?’ He was that kind of kid."

“It’s very, very hard. We were soulmates. I loved him more than anything in the world. He’s the best man, the best father. He’s the best husband,” Lynn Norris told KDVR earlier this week.

Memorial donations for his family can be made to the Christopher Norris Memorial Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank.

Read more about Norris in the Chicago Sun-Times.