Obituary of Edward R. Chelist

Edward R. Chelist was born on April 21, 1952 to Aaron Chelist and Frances Saltzman in St. Louis, MO. Eddie passed away Friday, August 24th at Lovelace Hospital where he was surrounded by very loving friends and family. Eddie is survived by his wife of 30 years, Christine Chelist, his two children, Leah Chelist, Daniel Chelist, his sisters, Jackie Chelist, Sandy Chelist and her husband Phil Waters. It brought peace to his loved ones that he was able to give life to others through organ donation as it was in his true spirit to perform such acts. Eddie was easy to love due to his kindness and regard for others, his child-like spirit, and his lack of inhibition in joke telling, his striving for adventure and his reaching out to find all of life's joy. He was a great teacher in the subject of living life, he never held back and lived full force. He dreamed out of the realm of that which he could grasp and provided this model for all of the lives that he touched. Eddie was always identified through his vast intelligence, his thirst for knowledge in so many subjects, and his unvarying dedication for studying and understanding the world, the universe, and beyond. Eddie was an extremely loving husband and father and a devoted and loyal friend. He never gave up on anyone and accepted people for all of the imperfections which make us human. Eddie grew up with his 2 sisters in St. Louis, Missouri where he emmersed himself in his studies and developed his adoration for the St. Louis Cardinals. Eddie graduated from Washington University in St. Louis and Cornell Medical School. After an internship at University of Connecticut he joined the Indian Health Service in Kayenta, Arizona. In Kayenta he and Chris developed life-long friendships and fell in love with the southwest. They were married in Telluride Colorado in June of 1982 and shortly after moved to Corrales with their baby daughter Leah in January 1984. Four years later in 1987 they brought their son Daniel into the world. Eddie worked for Lovelace and ABQ Health Partners in both Urgent Care and Family Practice. He developed close relationships with thousands of patients, his colleagues, and health care staff, throughout his thirty plus years of practicing medicine with great empathy and compassion. He will be so greatly missed and his spirit will continue to inspire us to live life fully as he did. A Celebration of Eddie's life will be held on Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 2:00 PM at the Outpost Performance Space, locatd at 210 Yale Blvd. SE. In Lieu of flowers or gifts the family asks that donations be made to The Outpost Performance Space, 210 Yale Boulevard SE Albuquerque, NM 87106, (505) 268-0044 or www.outpostspace.org, New Mexico Donor Services, 1609 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87102, (505) 843-7672 or info@donatelifenm.org and Global Service Corps, 3543 18th Street, #14 San Francisco, CA 94110, (415)551-0000 (415)861-8969 fax or www.globalservicecorps.org/site/donate/. gsc@globalservicecorps.org. Arrangements entrusted to Riverside Funeral Home of Albuquerque, 225 San Mateo Blvd. NE, (505)764-9663.