Christian Thorkil Host

Christian Thorkil Host of Wallingford, Pennsylvania, died unexpectedly on October 19, 2021. He was 65.

An engineer at the Boeing company, Chris was born on May 6, 1956, in New York City, to Stig and Jeanne Host. One of four boys, he grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut, as well as England, Japan, and Italy.

Chris attended Princeton University, where he studied philosophy, graduating in 1978. For five years, he taught math at Princeton Day School. A year after meeting his future wife, Winifred (Winnie) Lorna Stoltzfus, he quit his job and sold his house to follow her to Chicago, where he enrolled in an airframe mechanics licensing program. The couple were married in Princeton on January 4, 1986. The following year, Chris completed a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

Chris and Winnie moved to Seattle in 1987, where their three children were born, and Chris began his career with Boeing. In 1995, Chris transferred to the Boeing plant in Ridley, Pennsylvania, so that the family could live closer to relatives.

Chris worked for 34 years for Boeing, where he was proud to work on both the Boeing 777 and the V-22 Osprey. While at Boeing, he earned an MBA from Villanova University and moved briefly into a management position—but he soon realized that engineering was his true calling and returned to it. For the past decade, he was a senior operations research analyst in Boeing’s Vertical Lift Division, designing sophisticated computer simulations of aircraft operations, including the use of the V-22 Osprey for search and rescue missions. 

Outside of work, Chris was deeply involved in his community. He served as a member of the Parent Teacher Group during his children’s elementary school years, and was a soccer coach for Nether Providence— building on a zeal for the game that he had developed as a teenager living in Rome. He was also active with Swarthmore Presbyterian Church, serving as its treasurer, as a member of the finance committee, as an elder, and as a deacon.

Chris also enjoyed many hobbies. He was an avid woodworker; he had a private pilot’s license and built an amphibious plane; he loved the outdoors and particularly relished annual trips to his family’s property at Indian Pond in Orford, New Hampshire. He loved sailing and kayaking on Indian Pond, was a graceful skier, and enjoyed hiking in the New Hampshire woods, especially in the company of his family. He completed a bridge column every day and was an enthusiastic chess player. He was also a gifted musician: he played the clarinet, was an excellent harmonica player, and, in recent years, he followed his passion for bluegrass music, teaching himself to play the dobro. He loved jamming with local musicians.

Chris is survived by his wife, Winnie, and three children and their partners: Rachel (Host) White and Chris White; Alexander Stoltzfus Host and Grace Meloy; and Lydia Host and Mary Bell. He is also survived by his mother, Jeanne Host; his two brothers, George and Amory Host; his granddaughter, Eliza White; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Stig Host, and by his brother, Alexander Host.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, November 12, at 1 p.m., at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. The service will be outdoors and will follow the church’s COVID protocol, including social distancing and wearing masks. Please dress for the weather. Memorial contributions may be made to the Appalachian Mountain Club and Swarthmore Presbyterian Church.