John Chris Hatfield
(October 3, 1959 - February 2, 2014)

John Christopher (Chris) Hatfield, 54, beloved son of Don and Sandy Hatfield and dear brother to Joel Hatfield, died early Sunday morning, Feb. 2, 2014. He was born Oct. 3, 1959, in Huntington, WV. He graduated from Barboursville High School and Marshall University. He was a musician, artist, photographer, and audio visual expert. While in college he worked for the Greater Huntington Theater Corp. in a variety of positions, eventually becoming assistant manager of the Cinema and Keith-Albee Theaters and advertising director of the company. He moved with his rock band to Boston, MA. in 1983 where he performed in several clubs and worked at the Harvard Square theaters. He then joined the education staff of the Boston Museum of Fine Art, one of America's top five museums, where he worked for 15 years, advancing to head the museum's audio-video department. He then accepted a position as senior audio-visual technician at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he served for eight years, receiving an MIT Award of Excellence in 2013. He was a resident of Boston for 28 years, returning to Huntington in 2011. Chris was a creative, intelligent, witty and spiritual person who cherished family above all else. He loved books, movies, music, and philosophical discussions that ranged from theology to sports. He had a great appreciation for other cultures and a lifelong sensitivity to minorities in this country. He was well traveled, having visited London (his favorite city other than Boston) several times as well as Paris, Rome, and Madrid. He had a great fondness for the Beatles and the Kennedys and was also a huge fan of the Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics. He designed the book cover of his father's collection of short stories published in 2011, and on holidays and birthdays always produced a display of family photographs. He was preceded in death by a sister, Lisa, his maternal grandparents Sue and Sandy Soto, his paternal grandparents Howard and LaUna Hatfield, and his godfather, Keith Newman. He is survived by his parents and his brother Joel, an aunt, Tomasina Michel and her husband Jim of Barboursville, another aunt, Shirley Lusk and her husband Frank of Westbrook, Conn., a cousin, Lesley Byrne and her husband Michael and children Emily and Meghan of Glastonbury, Conn., and his former wife, Connie Dingman Hatfield of Boston. Chris was much loved by all in his family as well as by many good friends. His charm and wit, his sense of humor, and most of all his sensitive presence will be missed greatly. A visitation will be held at Klingel-Carpenter Mortuary Thursday Feb 6 from 4 to 6 p.m. Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday Feb 6, at First Presbyterian Church, 1015 5th Ave. Honorary pall bearers will be his brother Joel and his long-time best friends David Lansdale, Brock Avery, and Michael Seaton.