Chris Hall loved his life and lived it to the fullest. He was born September 17, 1950 and left us on December 21, 2014 following a long battle with Cancer.

Chris is survived by his loving wife, Pam Harknett; sister, Janice (Doug) Hemming; stepsons, Brock (Jane) and Drew Henson and grandchildren, Georgia and Annika Henson. Chris was a very loving husband, brother, stepfather and “Papa” to all.

He was a third generation Victorian and the son of Leon and Mildred Hall. He attended Margaret Jenkins Elementary, graduated from Oak Bay High in 1967 and attended the University of Victoria. On May 17, 1986, he married long time friend and fellow UVIC Vike, Pam Harknett. Chris retired from BC Buildings Corporation in 2005. Chris cherished his summers at Shawnigan Lake, winters in Palm Desert and year round golf with his buddies at Uplands Golf Club. Attending major sporting events and concerts across North America were also passions for Chris.

Chris excelled in baseball, basketball, football, rugby and lacrosse. Through sports, he made many friendships that would last his entire life. In basketball, Chris played for the UVIC Vikes and later the Senior Men’s Scorpions and Datatech teams. In football, Chris was a receiver and kicker with the BC Football Conference Dolphins and was named to the all-time Victoria team. In rugby, Chris first played for Velox, then moved on to first division with the James Bay Athletic Association. In baseball, Chris was an infielder with the Victoria Senior Amateur All Stars and spent a year in the Southern Baseball League with Swift Current just prior to being drafted by the Boston Bolts of the National Lacrosse League in 1975.

From that point, Chris launched a storied career in lacrosse that would conclude with being recognized as one of the greatest coaches and mentors in the game. He spent nine years as a player and ten years as Head Coach of the Victoria Shamrocks, winning three Mann Cups along the way. In field lacrosse, Chris co-founded the Senior A Men’s Victoria Seasprays/Royal Waxmen Club that won 14 Ross Cup national championships. Chris was a defenseman with Canada’s National Field Lacrosse Team through three World Championships and was selected to the All World Team at the World Games in Los Angeles in 1984. He then went on to become Head Coach of the National field lacrosse team through two more World Championships. Chris also coached Team England in two world indoor box lacrosse championships.

Chris was named Head Coach of the National Lacrosse League Calgary Roughnecks in 2002 and won an NLL Championship. After six years in Calgary, he went on to become Head Coach of the San Jose Stealth and won another NLL title when the team moved to Washington in 2012, becoming only the second coach in the history of the league to win titles with two different teams.

Chris spent 12 years as a Head Coach in the National Lacrosse League, was a five-time All Star Game coach and retired this year as the 3rd all-time wins leader. He was nominated and won election as an NLL Hall of Fame inductee Class of 2014. Chris was also inducted into the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in October of 2014.

We will be celebrating Chris’ phenomenal life on Monday, January 12, 2015 at 3:00 p.m. in The Carson Room, Level 2, Victoria Conference Centre, 720 Douglas Street, Victoria, BC.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Shamrocks Alumni University Scholarship program in memory of Chris Hall. Cheques payable to “Victoria Shamrock Alumni”, c/o 4174 Thornhill Crescent, Victoria BC, V8N 5E5.

The WLA thanks Tyson Leies for this tribute to Chris Hall