Chrisandra Jane Sarda

The story line of Chris Sarda's life is her quest for living beyond the prescribed limits of experience and expectation that prevailed where she grew up. Born July 30, 1950, in Madison, Wisconsin, Chris was raised in nearby rural Lodi (population 1,200). According to her parents, there was no need to look anywhere other than Wisconsin, for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. By her own account, however, Chris began to question this received family wisdom at the age of six. And in 1975 she embarked on her own modern-day version of the Oregon Trail.

Her avenue out of Wisconsin was an early marriage, combined with her education and training in medical records information systems and management, which took her first to Salt Lake City and then to Pendleton. By 1977, Chris had arrived in the Portland area, which became her physical and spiritual home for the rest of her life.

Initially, Chris worked for Eastmoreland General Hospital from 1977 to 1983, rising to overall Director of Information. From 1983 to 1997, her work consisted of diverse and increasing responsibilities for several Kaiser Permanente Northwest entities, beginning as director of inpatient medical records at Bess Kaiser Medical Center and later becoming director of the regional outpatient medical record services, supervising a clerical and technical staff of more than 200 employees. From 1994 to 1996, as the Program Manager/Outside Care Specialist for Community Medical Relations, Chris researched, recommended, implemented, and managed Kaiser's Provider Relations Program and successfully prepared the department for the National Committee for Quality Assurance accreditation survey. Prior to her retirement in 1997, as the Hospital Strategies Project Coordinator during the closing phases of Bess Kaiser Hospital, Chris facilitated service delivery planning projects, physician orientation programs, and communications for Kaiser Permanente Health Plan and Northwest Permanente. She also established hospital affiliation relationships with the other major hospitals in the Portland metropolitan area. Throughout her career, Chris's expertise in medical records management was sought by many local health systems outside of Kaiser Permanente.

Over the years, Chris applied her natural leadership skills to a variety of community activities that reflected her broad interests and commitments. Her volunteer efforts included serving on the boards of the Friends of Timberline (1993-1997, including a term as president; the Clark County Vocational Skills Center (1990-1994); and the American Cancer Society, as President, East Clackamas Unit (1986-1989) and as Fundraiser Co-Chair in 1990. One of her last commitments was to Berry Botanic Garden, for which she authored a self-guided tour of the garden and later volunteered in plant conservation and the seed bank.

In the course of both her professional and volunteer work, Chris developed a reputation for a focused approach to the problem at hand, personal fairness and integrity, and clarity of thought and expression, all of which were accompanied by a quick wit and a sense of humor. She was also a person of action. A little known fact: over 30 years ago Chris and two friends approached the City of Portland about establishing a Bike Day to celebrate pedal power in the city. Janet Schaeffer, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager at the time, responded favorably to what became a cooperative venture of cycling citizens, city government, and local businesses. August 15, 1979, was officially proclaimed Portland Bike Day, and the three women participated riding a tandem bicycle built for three. This all-day event took place well before Portland had any aspirations of becoming the country's "biking capital" but it served as the forerunner of today's "Bike to Work Day."

Important as her professional and volunteer commitments were to Chris, a significant aspect of her life was her lifelong determination to broaden her horizons, and in so doing create a life on her terms rather than the beliefs of others. There were two aspects to this quest -- one was her own extensive reading and writing that began in childhood. Throughout her life, she recorded her responses to the many books she read, and she relished the writing classes she took at Portland Community College. "After a career that included writing project papers, policies, and procedures in the health care industry, writing exploratory essays is a rebirth for me," she wrote.

The other defining aspect of her character was her eagerness to explore the world, starting with Oregon and extending to many places in the United States and abroad. Although foreignness was appealing to her, it required some courage to approach and appreciate differences in language and culture: "Like the long driveway leading from our farmhouse, the thought of traveling outside my comfort zone was sometimes intimidating, but the more out of your element you can be, the more you have to gain."

Her desire to experience other cultures got a considerable boost when she married her second husband, Raj Sarda, a physician at Kaiser Permanente Northwest. As Chris had migrated west from Wisconsin, Raj had traveled from Bombay (Mumbai), each leaving familiar territory behind. No matter where she and Raj traveled, Oregon was always their home base, and they experienced all that the state had to offer, primarily the outdoors and the local bounty from its farmlands and vineyards.

Both welcomed more adventurous travel as well, but India held a special place in her heart. After her first visit with Raj to his family, Chris wrote: "India caught me off guard. I am now possessed by a need to make sense of this country shrouded with enormous complexity, contrast, and color." The writings of Bharati Mukherjee particularly appealed to her: "Through her writing, I am able to glean knowledge, shed some ignorance, find comfort in mutual experiences from a cross-culture marriage, and recognize stereotypical attitudes in both cultures."

Chris held strong beliefs about such issues as overpopulation, the condition of our environment, excessive use of limited resources, and the importance of education. These issues weren't just intellectual concerns for Chris. If she could walk to a place, the car remained in the garage. When walking in the neighborhood, on a trail, or at a beach, she carried a spare bag to pick up litter along the way, doing her practical part to keep Oregon beautiful.

In a life cut short by cancer, Chris never said, "Why me?" There was no blame to be assigned, nor did she accept self-pity in herself or from others. She believed that life is measured by quality, not longevity. Chris modeled pushing the boundaries and satisfying the urge to discover what lies around the next bend in the trail, and the one after that, and the one after that until the end on October 23, 2009.

Locate on Walk:

• Stage Wall (Left Wall), 1-14