Chrystal (Chris) Roaden, age 56, passed away at her home in Pasco, WA on Friday October 13, 2017, surrounded by family and friends. Chris was born in Hermiston, OR on March 4, 1961. Her family moved to Burbank, WA in 1974, where Chris spent her middle and high school years. After high school she moved to Seattle to attend college. She married Michael Roaden in 1984 and graduated from the University of Washington in 1985 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. After a short time, the couple moved back to the Tri-Cities, where their daughter Courtney was born in 1991. The family settled in Burbank, WA and lived there through Courtney’s college graduation. Chris worked as a Paraeducator for the Columbia Burbank Elementary School for 20 years before retiring in 2016. Chris was passionate about the children she worked with and was genuinely interested in their success. She went to work many days while feeling under the weather because, “the kids need my help”.

Chris devoted her life to being an excellent mother, mentor and friend to her daughter Courtney and did everything in her power make her happy. They loved spending time together -  shopping, “styling”, traveling to their favorite places, going to concerts and movies, watching football games – and when they weren’t together, they were calling or texting each other. Chris loved Courtney, “to the moon and back.” Chris also cared deeply for her family and was actively involved in their lives. She never missed a family event or holiday, and made these events so special with her ideas, efforts and creativity. She loved doing for others, and made it a point to make every family member feel special and loved. Chris poured her heart into her relationships with friends. She sought to be a source of comfort and strength to them, hiding her own struggles in order to shield them from worry. Her warm sense of humor, positive attitude and genuine thoughtfulness earned her many loyal and true friends who loved her in return.

The common thread woven through Chris’s life was her strong faith and trust in God. Her relationship with God began when she was young and continued with her until the end. Rather than turning from Him, she turned to Him when she was discouraged or broken hearted. She desired that others would see God’s goodness through her and be inspired to draw closer to Him. She approached her illness with an abundance of courage and grace and through all of her trials Chris never lost her faith in and friendship with God. We are assured that although she lost her 19-year battle with breast cancer, she won the war.

Chris is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Courtney and Bobby Nelson; her mother and father, Shirley and Ronald George; her sisters Ronda Boulds and Sondra (and husband Renny) Schauer; her aunts and uncles, Carla Wheatley, Delma Schuller, Bill and Geraldine George, and Janice and Aurelius Byrd; her nieces and nephews, Sarah Smith, Alycia Stone, Michael Boulds, Joshua Boulds and Matthew Boulds; and numerous other relatives.

There will be a memorial service at Faith Assembly of God in Pasco, WA at 10:00am on Saturday October 21, 2017; all are welcome. Chris requested to be cremated, and her ashes will be interred at Sunset Gardens in Richland, WA.

The family would like to thank Chris’s co-workers, the school district and entire community of Burbank for their numerous fundraisers, donated time and especially emotional support; her loyal friends who stood beside her and encouraged her; her doctors, and the caring nurses at Tri-Cities Cancer Center and Chaplaincy Healthcare; and so many others who cared for and supported Chris in ways both large and small. Chris was deeply appreciative and said many times, she could not have kept fighting without you.