Chris Geiregat

Chris was born in Ghent, Belgium and grew up in the surrounding area in the village of Nazareth in East Flanders. Early on, he had a passion for economics and attended the University of Ghent to study macroeconomics, where he excelled in coursework and worked his way to become a teaching assistant for his professors. Chris received an award acknowledging the high quality of his undergraduate thesis and was guided by his mentors to come to the U.S. to further his studies. He received a PhD in Economics at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland in 2000, where he made many long-lasting friendships and met his future wife, Irene Kuo, who was a graduate student at the School of Public Health at Hopkins.

After receiving his doctoral degree, Chris joined the faculty at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he unlocked one of his many passions: teaching. He poured his whole heart into each class, and in his first year, students voted him Teacher of the Year. Chris joined the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC in 2004 to be closer to Irene who was still living in Baltimore, and they married in April 2005. Chris was professionally challenged and fulfilled by his 20 years at the IMF, traveling to much of Francophone Africa. He became a fountain of institutional knowledge at the Fund, having served in multiple departments and divisions and with countless colleagues. He was known for his hard work, honesty, humility, high ethical and moral standards, and was recognized as a teacher, mentor and friend to many, not only at the Fund, but also by the country representatives with whom he worked as well as his circle of friends and neighbors. Chris was proud of his many accomplishments at the IMF, and his driving principle was to work for the common good for the people of the countries with which he engaged, all principles rooted in his Flemish upbringing.

Beyond work, Chris was most proud of his daughter Eva, whom he loved deeply. He loved her so much that he had even picked her name out years in advance and would frequently engage in silly antics to make her laugh. She was the light of his life, and his professional successes were driven by his love and commitment to providing for Eva and Irene.

Chris’ other passions included his deep love of art history, particularly the Flemish masters and Renaissance art. He dreamt of a second career as an art historian and adored traveling to France, Belgium, and Italy to visit artistic masterpieces in person. Chris also loved music, particularly American singer songwriters and folk artists, including Guy Clark, Lyle Lovett, Townes Van Zandt, John Hiatt, and John Prine, among many others. His two favorite concert halls were De Vooruit in Ghent, which he frequented for endless cups of coffee and concerts as a university student, and The Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, where he often arrived hours before showtime to secure front row seats for his favorite musicians. Although deeply proud to be Belgian and happily ensconced in the U.S., Chris’ heart remained in France, where he had planned to retire with Irene.

Chris is survived by his wife Irene Kuo and daughter Eva Geiregat-Kuo.

A memorial service and will be held 3:00 PM on Saturday, June 15 at Joseph Gawler’s Sons, 5130 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC. Irene and Eva invite you to stay for a reception after the service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Chris' favorite organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders at the link below:

https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/tribute.cfm