Christopher Jerard | Kahlil Johnson | Tanner Hall | Mike Laroche | Scott Gaffney | Matt Sterbenz

 Tag Kleiner | Ladd Williams | Lorraine Johnson

Check out the entire CR memorial gallery from our tribute Issue.

KAHLIL JOHNSON, CR'S SISTER

CR wasn't a competitive person. He was more than happy to take second or third. It didn't bother him. I think that's part of the person he became over the last four years. He had a lot of drive but it was personal. It wasn't about pitting himself against someone else. He was on his own path. I never really felt he was doing what other kids were doing.

He was just out doing his thing. I really admire that person who can be who they are and be so comfortable with who they are that they can have their own experience. He was so completely his own person. I think that really drew people to him.

"When we went skiing the first day after he got out of the hospital, he got off KT-22 and skied backwards to the top of West Face faster than I could ski forward."

It never really occured to me that he wouldn't be able to pull something off. It was amazing what he could do on a pair of skis and how comfortable he was. When we went skiing the first day after he got out of the hospital, he got off KT-22 and skied backwards to the top of West Face faster than I could ski forward.

He had been in a coma and in a bed for 30 days, and then after a couple months of PT, he could pull this off. He had a comfort level in his whole body, especially in the last six months. And it wasn't just on skis, it emanated from his entire body.

Before his injury, he was a rockstar. The injury had an impact on who he was in the world. I've always thought he was a good person with good ethics and values, but when he came out of his coma, there was an innocence to him that was so amazing. I already got to see him grow up once because I was so much older than him, but when he came out of his coma, I saw him grow up all over again. His sense of drive and thankfulness changed.

Before his accident, we could be all at dinner, and he might be on his phone outside trying to plan a trip: where am I going, who's the photographer… he was working it. But after his accident, when we would be together, he was very present and very grateful for the time you'd reserve for him. And he made an effort to connect to you. It wasn't all about him. It was about conversation and exchange of information. It was beautiful.

P: Chris O'Connell

I was looking forward to seeing him grow up to be a man and have kids and a family and experience that part of life, because I think he was going to do an amazing job of it and set an amazing example for a lot people.

Being the best human being that you can be is more important than anything else in the world. I think that's what my brother was.

Check out the entire CR Memorial gallery from our Oct Issue.

Christopher Jerard | Kahlil Johnson | Tanner Hall | Mike Laroche | Scott Gaffney | Matt Sterbenz
 Tag Kleiner | Ladd Williams | Lorraine Johnson