06/16/2026
The SandAngel Foundation has grown significantly since it's founding in 2014. Many of our new friends did not have the pleasure of knowing personally the person it honors.
Today on the 13th anniversary of the death of Chris Back, I thought it would be appropriate to say a few words about her and how The SandAngel Foundation began.
Chris was a loving wife and mother and a dedicated nurse for over 30 years. She had a smile that illuminated a room and an infectious laugh that brightened the spirits of anyone around her.
Chris loved her children, Allison and Alex, and so proud that she was happy to tell anyone about them given half a chance.
She dedicated her life to being a nurse, graduating from U.C. University of Cincinnati College of Nursing and working at (then) University Hospital for over 30 years. I've lost track of the number of people who have told me what a caring and professional nurse she was when they or a loved one was being cared for there.
Chris' favorite place on earth was a small beach town on the Florida pan handle called Seagrove Beach. She loved just walking the beach in the early morning before anyone else was awake. The name "SandAngel" comes from her affection for that place.
Chris was killed on June 16, 2013 in a car accident on a highway just outside of Durango, Colorado while we were on vacation. She had been retired for only a few months and we were looking forward to many adventures to come.
As a family, we struggled with how to make sense of such a tragedy and how to move on. We never did make sense of it but we decided to honor her memory by starting a foundation to help future nurses by providing them with scholarships. I knew Chris when she was attending nursing school, and I saw how she held a full time job while working toward her B.S. degree. The nursing program at U.C. is a challenging one, and we hoped by offering scholarships it would make that goal a little easier for some worthy student.
So, that's how The SandAngel Foundation was born. Since then around 30 nursing scholarships have been given. For me, it has all been done to honor Chris and in hopes that others will be able to follow in her footsteps.
That will be her legacy, that and all the people she touched with her love and kindness in life. That's what keeps those of us involved with SandAngel going.
And it's because of the kindness and support that you all have shown us over the years that we can continue to honor Chris in this way and perpetuate her legacy in the years to come.
Thank you.
Ron Back
