Chris Teahon

Chris Teahon, age 67, of Aurora, passed away Thursday, November 28, 2024, at the Westfield Quality Care.
A Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday, December 4, at the Chapel of Higby-McQuiston Chapel in Aurora. Pastor Michelle Reed will officiate. Inurnment will take place in the spring.   No visitation.  Memorials may be made to the family to designate at a later date.   Condolences may be sent to the family through the mortuary website at www.higbymortuary.com.
Christi Marie Wheelock was born December 22, 1956 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Alliance, to the late Jim Wheelock and Sharon M. Wheelock. She was the fourth of their five children. They lived at the historic old Dumbbell Ranch at the time of her birth and until she was five years old.
They lived in Whitman for two years before moving the family ranch outside of Hyannis where she loved being with horses and working cattle.
She began school in Hyannis and graduated from Hyannis High School in 1975. She was accomplished in band from grades 6 to 12, playing the clarinet and occasionally other horns. She was involved in high school rodeos, qualifying and competing at State and National competitions, and belonged to the local roping club from age 8 on, only the second girl in the club. Sister Robyn was the first.
She loved horses more than anything and began breaking them for ranchers at age 6. In later years she wrote a book about training horses and understanding how horses think, and for many years wrote a western column in the Grant County News, “Sand In My Soul”, as well as detailed articles on horses and ranch life in special editions.
She had two sons, Daniel John and Nathan Ryan Teahon. She was very proud of her sons, adored her grandchildren and was thrilled to become a great-grandmother when Lacey was born.
She was a very hard worker all her life—in the hay field on the ranch when growing up, in factories for over 40 years when raising her boys, working as a custodian in the Giltner K-12 school for three years—and most of the time training horses on her off-hours. Writing her book was in part to make more money, so it was part job, part also loving writing about horses. She was an honored author in a large event in Hyannis with seven other of the area’s esteemed western authors.
She followed her sons and grandchildren in sports and other events, always supporting and loving them in whatever endeavor they were in. She introduced them to horse racing, 4-H, and they helped photograph and reenact the training methods of horses in her book. She loved and never missed, until this year, the State Fair, often taking family.
When health issues slowed her work, she spent much time caring for ill or dying friends and neighbors and visiting others in nursing homes. Her open heart and kindness was a blessing to many people in need throughout her life.
Preceding her in death were her father Jim Wheelock, granddaughter Morgan Caroline, two uncles, Sid Wheelock and Bob Thomas, paternal grandparents, George and Doris Wheelock, and maternal grandparents, Lois Mansfield and Milton Thomas.
Surviving her are sons Dan and Nathan, daughters-in-law Shanon and Desiree’, grandchildren Paige (Bryce), Jacob (Amanda), Ayva, Talon, Londyn, and great-granddaughter Lacey, her mother Sharon M. Wheelock, brothers James Wheelock and Lance Wheelock, sisters Robyn Wheelock and Londa Wheelock.
Chris died Thanksgiving evening at Westfield Quality Care in Aurora. She was a blessing to everyone who knew her, and she will be terribly missed.