Christopher Hisel

Father, son, brother, uncle, ACTs brother and Retreat leader, prison minister, husband and friend, Christopher Bryan Hisel, 72, passed away Thursday, November 4, 2021, after fighting prostate cancer for more than fourteen years - like a boss.

Chris was born the youngest child to Lucille Dunham Hisel and Warren Bryan Hisel in Wichita Falls, Texas in 1949. Later in life he loved to tell - and his children loved to repeat - the story of when he was a boy there and “having to whip the Wayner for spouting off mouthy.” He had one brother (Hank Hisel and his wife Linda, of Krugerville, Texas) and one sister (Suzanne and herhusband Jerry, of North Little Rock, Arkansas).

In 1961, when Chris was 12, he moved with his family to Monahans, Texas during the summer before his eighth grade year. They lived down the street from D.E. “Pat” Ramsey and Mary Beth Ramsey and their family of 7, made up of David Ramsey, MD (wife, Dicksie Lewis), Carol AnnRamsey Parker (husband, Dan Parker), Cindy Elaine Ramsey Magee (husband, Lee Magee), Russell Dayton Ramsey, and a 12 year old towheaded Connie Beth Ramsey. For the next 60 years, Connie Beth, and all of the Ramsey clan, would be an integral part of Chris’s life.

Chris and Connie became great best friends over the next 6 years which turned into a lifetime of love and adventure when they ran off to Juarez, Mexico at the age of 17 in 1967 and got married; later, marrying in the Church at St. Ann’s in Midland, Texas. Mary Ann was born in Lubbock, Texas, in 1968 and they moved to Dallas, Texas in 1969 where Chris went to work for General Electric. Christopher Gabriel was born there in 1971 and Patrick Warren came in 1972 -Irish twins, born exactly 364 days apart.

The family moved back to Monahans, Texas in 1977 and Chris went to work for MR Oil Company as a roughneck. Chris built a life there with Connie for 26 years, raising kids, serving on City Council and the Lobo Booster Club, and worshiping at St. John’s Catholic Church. He retired as President of MR Oil in 2003 and served on the Board of Directors of the West Texas State Bank (now City Bank) until 2019. He served on the Board of P Crossbar until his death.

Balmorhea State Park, the Davis Mountains, Guadalupe Peak, Carlsbad Caverns, Ruidoso, New Mexico, Garner State Park, Port Aransas, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone National Park, and many golf courses across the country are all places in the world where Chris had adventures and made memories with loved ones. Chris and Connie were married for more than 54 years.

In 2005, Chris and Connie moved to San Antonio, Texas, and from then until 2021, they traveled the world. Highlights were a trek up Route 1 to Canada, whale watching and sunbathing in Maui, and several pilgrimages celebrating their Catholic faith, including to Chimayo in New Mexico, Czestochowa in Poland, Medugorje in Bosnia; and, 4 years ago, a 511 mile hike from St. Jean Pied de Port in France, across the Pyrenees, into the plains of Spain, and on to Santiago de Compostela on the way of St. James, also known as Camino de Santiago, or The Way.

Chris was larger than life and always full of  love, charity, music, laughter and joy. He is survived by Connie, his wife of more than 54 years; his children, Mary Ann Hisel and her wife Melissa, and granddaughter, Ramsey; Gabriel Hisel, M.D., and his wife Carrie, and granddaughters, Emily and Caroline, and grandson Jackson; and, Patrick Hisel, M.D., and his wife Stephanie, and granddaughters, Jordan and Peyton, and grandson Dayton; and, his brother, sister and many beloved family members and friends.

A celebration Mass will be held on Saturday, November 13, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. in Ruidoso, New Mexico at St. Eleanor’s Catholic Church (140 Junction Road, Ruidoso, NM 88345). The family welcomes all, in honor and remembrance of Chris, to provide love, service and charity to organizations or causes of their choosing in lieu of flowers. Chris’s favorite charities were the Mission of Divine Mercy in Canyon Lake, Texas. (https://missionofdivinemercy.salsalabs.org/mdmdonationform/index.html),

and Father Greg Boyle’s Homeboy Industries in LA (https://homeboyindustries.org/donate/donate-online/#donate).

Chris will be forever missed and endlessly celebrated by those who knew him