Minnetonka - Age 77, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, died suddenly and unexpectedly at home on Thursday, December 11th, of a heart attack. Chris had beaten Stage Four cancer after life altering surgery in 2013. She was told at that time that she only had a five percent chance of living five years; she lived 12 ½ years after her surgery! In 2021, Chris fell and fractured her left femur; she did regain a very limited ability to walk with a walker after surgery that left her left leg two inches shorter than her right; then she fractured her right femur in 2023, spent seven months in transitional care; after her release, she was only able to walk a few steps using a special walker and with a lot of assistance from her primary caregiver, Liana Sherer of Champlin, who is without any doubt an "Angel on Earth."

Chris was the sole child of Dr. Richard, MD, and Elsa Marie Leick. She suffered from PTSD for most of her life.

Chris attended Visitation Grade School and Visitation High School and remained close to fellow students—especially Col. (Ret.) Martha Turner (USAF) of Inver Grove Heights, MN, Brenna Murphy of Wayzata, MN, Nancy Cavanaugh of Falls Church, VA and Jeannie Hamilton of Titusville, FL.—collectively referred to as "The Vis Girls."

Chris earned her undergraduate and Law degrees at the University of Minnesota (1973).

Chris and her husband, Guy Marzano, met at a conference in Fargo, ND. Chris was the featured speaker who flew in from Minneapolis, and Guy had driven there from East Grand Forks, MN. Guy was the only man at the conference, which started on Friday evening, and Chris asked him late on Saturday afternoon if he liked to dance. He did!!! There was a band at the Fargo Holiday Inn that evening, and they (mainly Guy) used to say that their first date was at the Holiday Inn (which typically raised a few eyebrows until they explained that they went to a dance there).

Guy later moved to Minneapolis to be near Chris, but after dating for over a year, Chris and Guy broke up. About three years later they ran into each other and, after some awkward moments, started seeing each other again. That started "Round Two," which lasted about 30 years—including 28 plus years of marriage—Chris and Guy married on October 4, 1997 at Hillcrest Nursing Home of Wayzata, where Chris' Mother, Elsa Marie was a patient.

One day Guy was talking with someone that said that she worked at Hillcrest and asked Guy if he knew where that was. Guy replied, "Yes, I got married there," and she replied, "So you're the one (which was a very memorable line from "Top Gun.")

If you remember at the end of Top Gun, "Charlie" (Kelly McGillis) sees "Maverick" (Tom Cruise) at the Miramar Naval Air Station and plays "You Lost the Loving Feeling" on the juke box, a song "Maverick" serenaded her with when he first saw her. Maverick saw her across the room, and said after the first time he sang it, their relationship "had gone down in flames." She said, "And on the second?" and he replied, "I don't know, but it's looking pretty good so far." In a nutshell, that captures Chris and Guy's story.

Chris is survived by her husband of 28 years, Guy Marzano; stepson Paul Hogenson of Phoenix, AZ; stepson Mark Hogenson of Minneapolis MN (Nina); and stepdaughter Kristen (nee Hogenson) (Jeff) Henkenius of Arden Hills, MN; Grandchildren Ashley (Née Hogenson) (Drew) of Invergrove Heights, MN; Megan Henkenius of Fargo, ND; and Jackson Henkenius of Fargo, ND; and Cousin Mike (Jennifer) McNellis of Edina, MN.

Chris (and Guy) had some very special friends Carol and Roger Upham. Carol is the mother of Chris' stepchildren, and Chris and Carol got to be good friends passing the children back and forth. Carol was the Matron of Honor at Chris and Guy's wedding.

Other special friends are Sue Miler and Dave Doi. Sue and Chris both worked in the Grain Exchange Building when Chris was just starting out as a lawyer. Then Sue and Dave moved to Bethesda, Maryland when Sue was selected as the Vice President of Volunteer and Taxation Programs at the AARP and Dave (trained as an attorney) became a lobbyist that got the Brady Bill passed. They retired and moved to the beautiful town of Jackson, Oregon and became heavily involved in the community, including being instrumental in getting a new community center built there.

Chris worked at different firms and in sole private practice as a Family Law (Divorce) attorney for approximately 20 years; but found the work too adversarial; as a result, she decided to become a mediator and opened Dispute Resolution Services to help help people settle their differences (including many divorce cases) in as civil a manner as possible. In divorce cases, Chris typically handled the most difficult ones where both parties' attorneys, childcare experts, and an accountant (to determine business implications) were present.

Before developing psoriatic arthritis and experiencing many fractures, Chris was a downhill skiing instructor and played a very assertive game of tennis. She later had to slow down and read a lot (primarily romance novels), went to various venues for tribute concerts, visited theaters throughout the Metro to see plays, and attended self-help programs live or by Zoom.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, January 3rd, at Noon, at the Edina Country Club, 5100 Wooddale Ave., Edina, MN 55424. Visitation at 10:30 AM. Valet parking has been prepaid.

Mark Shockey, the current District Governor of Rotary District 5950 will be the host and main speaker. He is a Member of the Rotary Club of Service to Minnesota Veterans. Chris was a Member of this Club, and Guy is the current President of the Club. In fact, Mark and Guy went on a service project together on December 11th, and Mark came in Chris and Guy's house to say hello to Chris. Chris passed away within 90 minutes after he stopped in.

A private interment will be held at Fort Snelling National Cemetery prior to Chris' celebration of life.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the Rotary International Polio Plus Program (Polio Eradication Program)—Chris' cousin, Jerry McNellis, of Pittsburgh, PA, was a polio survivor; Sofas for Service of Spooner, WI (who redistributes furniture, kitchen items, bedding, new mattresses, and other household items to veterans who are just moving into housing after being homeless); and the ICA Food Shelf (that serves the Minnetonka area).