Christopher Robinson Mcrae

Christopher Robinson McRae, 75, of Decatur GA, passed away on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 after a long and valiant struggle with cancer and heart disease. Chris was preceded in death by his parents, Emmett Ulrich McRae and Cynthia Lanier McRae of Anniston, AL, and his brothers, Michael, Timothy and Mark McRae, also of Anniston. He is survived by his former wife Catherine Norton McRae, and his present wife, Barbara Blatchley McRae, as well as by his children Caitlin Nicole McRae (daughter), Colin Alexander Byrne McRae (son) and Lindsay Myers McRae (daughter-in-law) and Erin McRae Krajcik (daughter) and Michael Krajcik (son-in-law), as well as by his grandaughters, Maria Juliet, Elise Sophia and Maggie McRae Krajcik and grandson Carter Myers McRae.
Chris was a teacher of languages and literature both as his occupation and as a deeply felt calling. Introducing students to what makes us all different and what links us together across language and culture was his great joy. He was passionate about the music of languages and poetry and by music of all sorts. At the age of 60 he began to learn to play the guitar, studying it daily. He was a life-long devotee of the written word, reading and collecting books on every subject imaginable and in several languages, and writing his own memoires. He used his skills with languages in the Air Force, assigned to learning and translating North Vietnamese. He taught languages at the Citadel in Charleston, SC, and Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, GA, and at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA, among other places. And he offered his vast knowledge of grammar and languages to writers among his family and friends, editing manuscripts and offering spot-on critiques of our writing efforts.
Arrangements for a memorial service in Savannah, GA are pending. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Christopher’s name be made to the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, or Trees Atlanta.
He will be missed beyond measure.