Christopher Kolker

Memorial Services for Christopher John "CJ" Kolker will be held at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, December 16, 2014, at St. Theodore Catholic Church, Albert Lea. The Reverend Timothy T. Reker and Deacon Mike Ellis will officiate. Friends may visit with family from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. on Monday at Bonnerup Funeral Service, Albert Lea, and one hour before the service at the church. There will be a prayer service at 7:00 p.m. on Monday at the funeral home. Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery in Ipswich, South Dakota, at a later date. Chris was born July 13, 1968 in Aberdeen, South Dakota. He graduated from Ipswich High School in 1986 and obtained his degree in elementary education from the University of South Dakota. Chris began his teaching and basketball coaching career in Kadoka, South Dakota. He later moved to Custer, South Dakota, where he continued coaching and taught middle school math. Chris spent his last two years living in Albert Lea, Minnesota.
Chris loved to compete. He was a willing 6th man on his high school basketball team, an opposite field hitter with a solid glove, and a medium handicap golfer who thought he should be a scratch golfer every time he teed it up. Chris was devoted to his family, friends and the Church, and he always thought of others before himself. Chris passed away on December 12, 2014 due to complications from early onset Alzheimer 's disease. He is survived by his mother, Camilla Kolker-Sparks, his brothers Jim Kolker, Dan (Angie) Kolker, and Patrick (Laura) Kolker, step- sister Mary (John) Schulte, grandmother, Mary Hughes, six nieces and nephews and many loyal friends. Chris is preceded in death by his father, Thomas Kolker, and step-father, Paul Sparks. In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer memorials to the South Dakota Fellowship of Christian Athletes in honor of Derek Paulsen.