Christine Marie Federighi Obituary (1949 - 2006)

Born Jun 22, 1949, Christine Marie Federighi attended Aragon High School in San Mateo, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Christine Marie Federighi.

Graduation Year	Class of 1967
Date of Birth	Jun 22, 1949
Date of Passing	Nov 18, 2006
About	Christine Marie Federighi was born on June 22, 1949, in San Mateo, CA (MM name = Herigstad) and passed away at the age of 57 on November 18, 2006. Chris Federighi, a resident of Coral Gables, FL, and Steamboat Springs, CO, was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that had already metastasized to the bone in 1994. She died after a 12-year battle with the disease. She was surrounded by people she loved. She grew up in San Mateo, the daughter of the late Egidio "Fred" and Gudrid Federighi, and she was of Italian and Norwegian descent. She is survived by her brothers, Ron (Thailand), Mark (Lake Tahoe) and her sister, Kari Federighi Mose and brother-in-law, Jeff; her nephews, Guillaume, James and Paul, her aunt and uncle, Josephine and Clarence Gagliani and her aunt, Inge Herigstad, Iowa, as well as many loving cousins and friends. Her Norwegian Elkhounds, Tucker and Olie, were a great source of comfort and laughter to her. A professor of ceramics at the University of Miami for 32 years, her work has been widely exhibited in South Florida and nationally. Christine received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1972 from the Cleveland Institute of Art and her Master of Fine Arts in 1974 from Alfred University, she also taught in Italy and Israel, and conducted workshops in Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico, and Maine. She was a five-time recipient of the Florida Individual Artists Grant. She won a 1988-89 artist grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Most recently she was a recipient of the Cooper Fellow. Of local note, a sculpture of Christine's is located at the HIP senior housing project in San Mateo. Christine was a creator of one of the four winning sculptures in 2000 for the Millennium Site Specific Sculpture Competition, a piece entitled, "For Public Art's Sake". A lot of Christine's work reflected her travels to the Southwest and was inspired by American Indian and tribal art. "In many ways, sculpture is a journey," she once told an interviewer. After she was diagnosed with breast cancer, Christine sculpted a softball-sized, sphere-shaped "good cell" every day as a meditation to help her heal. She carved the cells with personal symbols and gave them to her doctors, nurses, family and friends after she first beat the cancer and left the hospital. Christine's trademark human narrative brings all her personal visions together - the Florida plant life, houses, stairs, the Colorado landscape, and water. She had a gift for transforming clay into powerful ceramic sculptures: whimsical folk animals, life-size human figures and environmental installations. Playing monopoly as a child led her to choose its simplistic shape for the house, one of her main symbols. "The house is a feminine symbol, and I am a homebody," Christine realized while building her Steamboat Springs home that she had three places she called home. "California was my birthplace, the Southwest is my spirit home, and Florida's my residence." Her devoted "clay" family of students, as well as colleagues and contemporaries, were inspired by her talent, kindness, vision and her strength. She was a mentor to many and leaves a legacy to both her work and her students. She is also a source of strength and inspiration to fellow cancer survivors. To see her work, visit www.christinefederighi.com.
Events	Donations can also be made to the Christine Federighi Scholarship at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center, a learning community dedicated to creativity and growth through the making and understanding of the visual arts. You can mail your donation to: Anderson Ranch Arts Center, P.O. Box 5598 (for US Postal Service mail), 5263 Owl Creek Rd. (for all other carriers), Snowmass Village, CO 81615. Or you can donate via their website at: www.andersonranch.com. If you would prefer to make a donation related to cancer or women, please make your donation to the American Cancer Society or to the Mills-Peninsula Foundation (specifically for their Women's Center or for the Digital Mammography Machine). A retrospective review of her work was held in April 2006 at the Lowe Art Museum on the University of Miami Campus. Services were held on December 13, 2006, at Schneider, Sullivan & O'Connel's Funeral Home, San Mateo. Interment at Skylawn Memorial Park.

Classmate Memories

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Diane Shefveland '71 said:

"She is survived by her brothers, Ron (Thailand)" - Sadly, Ron would pass away a mere 2 years later. His obituary is posted here under the 1969. He was married at one time to Linnea Myren, whose obituary is posted here under the 1971 class.

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