Recalling a young man’s humor, help

Christopher Wills, a former Newport-Mesa athlete and a motivated businessman, died this month at age 28.Eighty-hour workweeks weren’t abnormal for Christopher Wills during his rapid ascent to a management position.

By the age of 28, Wills had already become a senior vice president with Fisher Investments, a money management firm specializing in global investing.

He was self-motivated. And he had the ability to motivate others.

“What Chris did for me I’ll never forget,” said friend and former classmate Nima Namdar. “He ushered me along to become a man, to take life more seriously. He was a friend, a brother, a confidant.

“He made me who I am.”

Wills died Nov. 14 in Dallas. He was 28. Family members said they aren’t yet certain about Wills’ cause of death.

An overflow crowd packed into the chapel at Pacific View Memorial Park on Saturday to pay respects to Wills, who lived his first 18 years in Newport Beach.

He attended Harbor Day School and Corona del Mar High School, where he was a two-sport athlete for the Sea Kings. Wills played baseball and football and earned all-league football honors as a senior.

Wills and Namdar were football teammates. They later attended college together at UC Santa Barbara, where Wills majored in business and graduated with honors in 2000.

“He was a very humorous guy,” Namdar said. “He always had something to say to lighten the mood.”

After graduation, Wills moved to San Francisco to work for Fisher Investments. He lived in the Bay Area for three years and then was transferred to Dallas.

Co-worker Alan Niese said Wills took him under his wing.

“He was a mentor,” Niese said. “Always caring, always willing to offer advice about life.”

Former Little League coach Ron Coon described Wills as a “phenom” in sports. The baseball league developed a rule that pitchers could only pitch three innings in one game because of Wills’ domination.

“When I first met him, he had this contagious power to bring the best out in you,” Coon said. “In everything he did, he was always ready to play.”

Wills’ brother, Brad, said Chris Wills was a “driven, goal-oriented person,” whether it was playing monopoly, trading baseball cards or making business deals.

Brad Wills read out loud an e-mail his brother had sent him weeks earlier in which Chris Wills outlined future goals. Among them: learn Spanish, play guitar well and be in a loving relationship.

“He always had such a passion for everything he did,” Brad Wills said. “He was very competitive. He lived life to the fullest.”

Brad Wills said his brother wanted to achieve financial freedom so he could retire early and, upon having children, coach their sports teams. The brothers had talked about their kids playing together.

“We were so close in age that we did everything together growing up,” Brad Wills said. “We were inseparable. It will be hard to think of life without him.”

Wills is survived by his parents, Don and Patricia Wills; his brother, Brad Wills; and his half brother, David Wills.

Namdar and friend Randy Gorman have started the Christopher Don Wills Scholarship Foundation, which will provide scholarships to financially needy students who want to attend Harbor Day School.

The family asks that any checks be made payable to Harbor Day School, 3443 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar, CA 92625. Attn: Kathleen Jackson.