Christopher Michael Campana died April 4 while undergoing a stent procedure at a Guadalajara hospital. He was 52.
Born June 12, 1961 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Campana studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, graduating with a major in Visual Communications in 1982. He took further studies at the Allegheny County Community College and graduated with a degree in nursing from Carlow University in 1997. He was a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.
Campana worked as a registered nurse in an oncology unit at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center until 2003, when he accepted a position in a cancer treatment unit of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer and Research Center in Tampa, Florida. He was devoted to his patients, most of whom were terminally ill.
Campana was co-founder and vice-chairperson of Service for the Love of God, Inc., a charity that puts young people through school in the village of So-Ava in the Republic of Benin (West Africa). Campana was one of the few visitors to So-Ava since 2000, and endured the illnesses and hardships that came with village life on each trip. He was loved by the children and the members of the charity’s African board.
Campana loved animals of every kind and had many pets throughout the years.
He traveled extensively in Europe, South America and the Middle East, visiting many archeological sites around the world.
Campana moved to Mexico, a country he loved, after retiring in 2012, and settled in Ajijic.
He moved to Chapala after a year, making many Mexican and expat friends. Devoted to his Catholic faith, he was a firm believer in integrating into the Mexican community and attended Nuestra Señora del Carmen parish in his neighborhood. A Mass was celebrated at the San Francisco de Asis Church on April 11, where his remains have been placed.
Campana is survived by his partner of nearly 31 years, Jim Flynn; parents Michaelina and Ronald Campana of Monessen, Pennsylvania; his older brother Ron (Luanne) of Massachusetts; two nephews and a niece; and many friends throughout North America and Africa. The family asks for prayers for the repose of his soul.