Christopher Joel Garnsey, 58, of Sneads, Florida, passed away on September 21, 2026.
A lifelong resident of Florida, Chris was born on April 24, 1968, in Fort Lauderdale and grew up in Boynton Beach, where he developed a lifelong love of the ocean.
The water was always a part of Chris. He loved surfing and fishing, and when he was younger, he earned a reputation as one of the top sport fishing mates in the world. That life took him places. He traveled, fished, and surfed in many parts of the world, collecting the kinds of experiences and stories that could only belong to Chris.
There really was no such thing as a stray animal in Chris’s world. If one wandered into his path, it didn’t stay a stray for long. Somehow, it simply became part of his family.
And Chris definitely had his own way in the world.
He could be incredibly funny, sometimes without even trying to be. He was friendly and unfailingly polite, and he had a way of talking to people that made complete strangers take to him almost immediately. There was something about Chris that people remembered.
Chris was still the boy who loved the ocean. The fisherman. The surfer. The traveler. The brother and son. The funny guy who could make people laugh. The man who could strike up a conversation with a stranger and somehow leave an impression.
He is survived by his parents, Janis A. Davis and Thomas B. Garnsey, his sister, Merrill Garnsey-Bunker; his brother, Jason Garnsey, and a large extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
Those who knew Chris will each remember him differently because there were many sides to him. But the people who loved him will remember all of them.
And somewhere there will always be an ocean, a fishing boat, a perfect wave, or a story that makes someone laugh and say, “That was Chris.”
He will be so deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Chris’s memory to the Best Friends Animal Society or your local humane society, honoring his lifelong love for animals and his belief that there was no such thing as a stray.
No services are planned at this time.
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