{"id":16817,"date":"2025-10-02T12:27:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T12:27:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firstmemorialfairview.com\/?post_type=orbituaries&p=16817"},"modified":"2025-10-04T12:18:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-04T12:18:09","slug":"hans-christian-ahrens-chris","status":"publish","type":"orbituaries","link":"https:\/\/firstmemorialfairview.com\/fr\/obituaries\/hans-christian-ahrens-chris\/","title":{"rendered":"Hans-Christian Ahrens (Chris)\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hans-Christian Ahrens (Chris)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Retired diplomat<\/span><\/p>\n

June 5, 1942 – September 27, 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is with great sadness that the family announces Chris\u2019s passing from Alzheimer\u2019s disease at St. Patrick\u2019s Home in Ottawa on Saturday, September 27th.\u00a0 Many thanks to St. Patrick\u2019s staff for the exemplary care over the last two years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Chris was the son of the late Hakon Ahrens of Denmark and the late Marie Nikitin of Latvia.\u00a0 In 1953, at the age of eleven, Chris came to Canada with his mother and settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba.\u00a0 He continued with his early education, graduating from Daniel McIntyre Collegiate, where he won a top award in English, making his mother so proud!\u00a0 After graduating from the University of Manitoba, he sat for and passed his exams to join External Affairs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 He met the love of his life Grace Nelson at university in French class, where he did his homework on the back of a match book cover to Grace\u2019s chagrin and got a higher mark than she did at the end of the course.\u00a0 Their first date for coffee in the student union building\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 wasn\u2019t very auspicious either. All was going well till Grace had to rush to class.\u00a0 Before dashing off, Grace gathered up the debris on the table and dropped it into his full <\/span>cup of coffee thinking it was empty. \u00a0 And recycling was born!\u00a0 Her final thoughts were that he would never call her again. He did and they married in 1965.\u00a0 In 1967, they moved to Ottawa, where he began his career as a diplomat.\u00a0 Their first daughter Monica was born in 1968 and their second daughter Roslyn followed in 1970.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 With External Affairs, Chris and his family were first posted to Nigeria in 1969 and Finland in 1971 and then back to Canada.\u00a0 In 1977, they were off to Sri Lanka and Australia, returning to Ottawa for good in 1982, where Chris continued his career, retiring in 1995.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 While abroad, one thing Chris missed greatly was the Canadian wilderness,\u00a0<\/span>which he had fallen in love with as a boy and as a university student working for the Geological Survey of Canada in Northern Manitoba. His daughters recall his stories of being dropped by plane or CN rail in the bush or muskeg with a promise to return for him at a specific future time.\u00a0 No personal phone. Just a compass! No contingency plan!\u00a0 He loved the challenge of survival in the wild.\u00a0 So, upon retirement, he began a new unpaid career as an outdoorsman, camping, fishing and hunting at his fishing camp at Turner\u2019s Camp in Killaloe, Ontario near Algonquin Park.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 To anyone who met Chris, he was intelligent, articulate, quick-witted, funny, charming and sometimes silly!\u00a0 Grace recalls after one of his pranks got out of hand, that when asked if he thought he was the center of the universe, he replied with aplomb that he had never looked at it that way before!\u00a0 He really enjoyed having the last word!<\/p>\n

He was an insatiable\u00a0reader, and a lifelong student of history, political science and economics as evidenced by his massive book collection. He also had a taste for fine dining and wine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He lived his life to the fullest on his own terms, visiting far flung villages in Nigeria during the Civil War, climbing mountains in Norway, hunting in the jungle in Sri Lanka and bushwalking in Australia, etc., etc.\u00a0 He was particularly proud of his Viking heritage, filling the house with books on Viking lore, making Danish open- face sandwiches and scaring the kids at Halloween in his Viking costume.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0The girls were not immune to their father’s adventuresome spirit.\u00a0 Pictures tell the story….<\/div>\n
Young Monica visiting a mangrove swamp in Nigeria – no crocodiles visible,\u00a0cross country skiing in Finland followed by a sauna and a plunge into a cold lake, snorkeling in the coral reefs in Sri Lanka, shooing kangaroos and kookaburras away from the tent in Australia, canoeing in Algonquin Park, camping on an island in Frontenac Park infested with snakes, caterpillars and rodents and lastly but not least, Roslyn screaming for help after catching her first fish, while her father looked on laughing. He is probably still laughing while looking for a good campsite!<\/div>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Chris was predeceased by his parents Hakon and Marie Ahrens, his brother Axel, sister-in-law Kay Ahrens and brother-in-law Fred Bjerring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He will be mourned by his wife Grace; daughter Monica and grandchildren Owain and Anika Marsh; daughter Roslyn, son-in-law Jim Boukouris and grandchildren Zo\u00eb, Lena and Greg Boukouris; sister Astrid Bjerring and family in Ontario and B.C.\u00a0 A special thanks to the Deacoves and Krupas, Tanya and Raphi, and Angele and Bob for their support.<\/span><\/p>\n

As per Chris’s wishes, there will be no funeral.\u00a0 Cremation has already taken place, and the family will hold a celebration of life at a later date.<\/span><\/p>\n

No flowers please. Instead, if so desired, donations could be made in Chris\u2019s name to St. Patrick\u2019s Home in Ottawa.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to First Memorial Funeral Services for their gracious and professional services.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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