Christine Bennett Lindsey

April 12, 1923 - May 31,2021

Christine was the eldest child of Frederick and May Bennett. Born in England, she moved to Beverly Farms, MA at the age of three. Upon graduation from nursing school at Boston University she joined the nurse corps. She was stationed for six months in Santa Barbara (probably over the winter as she never moved back east), then on a hospital ship headed for the Philippines when Japan surrendered.

After discharge, she nursed in San Francisco where she met her husband Louis, a future Olympic rowing coach, in 1956. In 1959 they moved to Annapolis as Lou was hired as the head crew coach at the U.S. Naval Academy. Returning to San Francisco in 1961, she raised their children in Forest Hill. Christine returned to nursing at Children’s Hospital, primarily in operating and recovery. She was well regarded both for her nursing skills and for sharing home baked goods with coworkers.

Holiday meals hosted at the family house were exceptional. She would smoke a turkey and prepare all the dishes from scratch without help. Christine loved travel and adventure. The family travelled cross country in 1967 with nine, six, four year old boys. Regular trips to rowing regattas, medical escorting of elderly Russian women to Russia before the wall came down, week long grips to Cal Berkeley family camp, and simply taking her grandkids to the zoo and aquarium.

Her greatest joy were her three grandsons. She felt extremely lucky they lived less than an hour away. Her grandchildren gave her a second wind, a caregiving purpose, rewarding the boys with lifelong memories.

She leaves behind three sons, three grandsons, two granddaughters, two great granddaughters and a great grandson.