FENNER, Christopher David (1955-2023)
Courtesy B Fenner December 2023.
Chris was the second child of Thomas and Lynette Fenner, and was born on May 9 1955 in Maryborough in central Victoria. The family moved to Geelong when Tom gained employment as an engineer with International Harvester and Chris attended Roslyn State School and then The Geelong College for secondary schooling, following his older brother Ross (OGC 1966) and preceding younger brother Brad (OGC 1972). He always spoke fondly of his years at the College.
At school, he was a house prefect in McArthur, and stroked the 1st VIII in his final year, 1973, when David Ramage was in his first year as coach. The last major event that Chris attended was the 2023 Albert Bell Club Dinner, where four members of the 1973 crew, together with coach Ramage, gathered to celebrate the crew’s 50th anniversary.
After school, Chris studied civil engineering at Deakin University, prior to embarking on a career as a traffic engineer. Initially he worked for local councils in Melbourne and then moved into engineering consultancy, before finishing with VicRoads in Ballarat.
Chris was a keen shooter and won several awards and championships in clay pigeon shooting. He enjoyed shooting on the family property near Clunes, and regular trips away for hunting and fishing. Chris was also a lover of poetry and music and was knowledgeable and passionate about both.
Chris was married twice and had two children from his first marriage – James and Isobel. Chris and his second wife Shelley lived for the last 17 years of his life in an historic house in Clunes.
Unfortunately, Chris suffered chronic ill health for the last years of his life and had a liver transplant when he was 60. He died in hospital in Ballarat on October 17 2023, following a stroke.
OGC 1969