A legacy of laughter and compassion

At Amy Strutzenberg’s memorial service on Saturday, it was evident that despite her physical absence, she still has a dynamic impact on those who were close to her.

“We have so many Amy stories to tell,” Jon Christeson, Strutzenberg’s father, said to a large gathering of family and friends at Mariners Church in Irvine. “And I have so many Amy lessons to learn.”

Among the first lessons he will try to learn in his daughter’s memory, Christeson playfully said, “I will eat more chocolate, I will tell more dumb jokes, and I will never pay retail again.”

A Stanford graduate, Strutzenberg worked as the youngest senior consultant at Edgar, Dunn & Co. in San Francisco. She and husband Tyson planned to pursue graduate degrees at UCLA.

Before she become a financial consultant or a wife or a graduate student, Strutzenberg was a little girl whose curiosity often got the best of her.

Strutzenberg’s older sister Kelly Callaghan recalled that “when I was three years old, I learned the word ‘mischief’ thanks to Amy.”

She was so mischievous, Callaghan said, that as a little girl, her sister could often be seen running naked through the house after getting into trouble, covering her bottom with her hands in an effort to avoid a spanking. “She put a sign on her bedroom door that said, ‘No wooden spoons allowed,’ ” Callaghan said, laughing.

Strutzenberg’s energy and curiosity stuck with her as she grew into a young woman — though they manifested themselves in a slightly different way.

Many who spoke in her memory said Strutzenberg channeled her energy and enthusiasm into serving others. She never hesitated to ask what she could do to make a difference in the lives of others, said her youth pastor Greg Millikan.

Her thirst for life also showed in her marriage. In a letter to his late wife, Tyson Strutzenberg said, “I loved how you were up for doing anything at any time, with a smile, as long as you were fed.”

Her mother, Cindy Trane Christeson, a religion columnist with the Daily Pilot, lingered on memories of her daughter’s ability to make people laugh.

Christeson recalled that once, when Strutzenberg was just a toddler, she asked her daughter how she got to be so funny. The little girl replied “Well, God made me so special, and I made myself so funny!”

Strutzenberg’s father acknowledged that while his daughter is gone from this life, he believes that she is at peace.

“I forgot that angels only visit for a short period of time,” he said.