Christine Faith Mesford Kenoyer was born October 17, 1959, in Pasco Washington.  She died from cancer on July 8, 2025.

She moved with her family to White Salmon, Washington for her father to work at Mt. Adams Orchard (the largest pear orchard in the world, as she would always mention) when she was 5 years old.  She grew up there and loved it.

Chris lived with an aunt and uncle while attending Columbia Basin College, then went to work in food service as everything from waitress to bartender to nightclub and then restaurant manager.  During this time, she married Mark Hodges, a union that produced her sons Steven and Benjamin before dissolving due to Mark’s infidelity.

As a now-single mother, Chris went back to school to achieve her Bachelor’s degree in English/Language Arts to pursue a career as a teacher.  Though living in Richland, her financial situation required her to make the painful, but necessary, decision to travel daily to Heritage College in Toppenish, leaving her children in the care of a trusted friend.  After graduation she was able to find work as a substitute teacher until finally achieving a full-time contract at Southridge High School, where she taught until her retirement in 2025.

During this time, she continued her education, receiving a Master’s Degree in Education.  She also married Timothy Mesford, the love of her life, in 1998, a union that lasted the rest of her life.

For over 25 years she coordinated and ran the hospitality area for the annual Tumbleweed Music Festival in Richland, going far above and beyond the norm for such events.  Her efforts to feed the performers and volunteers of the festival contributed enormously to its popularity and success.

She is survived by her husband and two sons, Steven Michael Lowell Hodges and Benjamin Hamilton Wesley Hodges, her sisters Cindy Kenoyer and Joy Welever and brother Daren Kenoyer, their children and grandchildren, and the many friends who loved her.  No summary of her life can do her justice.  She was a bright light in a dark world.