Christine Cabell

Christine “Chris” Cabell Chris Cabell was born in Washington, D.C., in 1944 to Lt. Commander Murray and Helen Cabell. She passed away recently in McLean, Virginia, on her 80th birthday, following an extended illness. She grew up in Oklahoma City and graduated from Northwest Classen in 1962. She graduated from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, with a degree in Journalism. She was a member of Kappa Delta sorority and Kappa Tau Alpha, a national honor society for students in the fields of journalism and mass communication. Immediately upon graduation she entered the Peace Corps and spent two years in the Philippine Islands, teaching English and working with the local people in the areas of sustainable farming and water utilization. She considered those years to be among the highlights of her life. Upon her return to the states, she worked briefly for the Houston Chronicle as an investigative reporter, and later for NASA in their public information program during the space race. She eventually found herself living in the Washington, D.C., area, and working for the Federal Government. She earned a Master’s Degree in Library Science from American University there. During the Viet Nam War, she was offered the opportunity to serve in a civilian capacity as an archivist and military historian with the J-3 Program, and later with the Civil Operations & Rural Development Program. She received the Civilian Viet Nam Service Medal in 1970. Upon her next return to the states, she began working in the Pentagon in the fields of quality control and management and as the archivist for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a position she held up until her retirement. Although she never had children of her own, Chris cherished the opportunity to serve as a foster parent to several girls and young women, primarily immigrants and refugees, often away from their homes and families for the first time, and she maintained loving contact with many of them over the years. Her welcome mat was always out for all, and she relished being a host to the many people she had met in her travels all over the world. Chris was one of those amazing people who “never knew a stranger.” She was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her brother Tom Cabell (wife Vicky), Tulsa, and her sister Theresa Cabell (wife Misty McGinnis), Wichita, Kansas, and her nephew and niece Zach Cabell and Emily Cabell Craft and a number of great nieces and nephews. Her Earthly body has been cremated and her ashes will be interred in the Columbarium at All Souls Episcopal Church, next to those of her parents. There will be a celebration of her life following the internment.