Christine Solis Memorial

Christine Solis was born on June 22, 1950, in El Paso, Texas, the oldest of three sisters and four brothers. At the age of 12, she moved to Santa Ana with her parents. Chris was killed in an auto accident on July 22, 1983.

To quote from the eulogy offered at her memorial service by her good friend Whit Slemmons, “It is not very often that such a unique individual as Chris comes along — so bright, so beautiful, so simple, so complex, so creative in her art and poetry, and so unprejudiced….Chris was willing to do anything for anybody, anytime, and this makes her stand very tall; she truly was a unique and wonderful human being.”

Upon completion of her junior and senior high school education, Chris attended Orange Coast College at night, devouring art, dance, music, and business classes. She loved to learn and she loved to learn at OCC; she felt so “at home at this campus.”

This graphic art scholarship was started in her memory by her husband to perpetuate her love of art and her eagerness to help and encourage young artists.