Obituary of Christopher Lantz

Christopher Steven Lantz died of injuries sustained in a snowmobile accident on Wednesday, December 29, 2010. Chris was a third-year student at Vanderbilt University Law School and had accepted a position as an associate at the Atlanta law firm of Kilpatrick Stockton, which he was to start after earning his law degree in May 2011. A native of Oakland, MD., Chris graduated first in his class from West Virginia Univeristy in December 2007 with a B.S. degrees in both electrical and computer engineering. He was awarded the university’s prestigious Robert C. Byrd Scholarship, as well as a Blue & Gold Scholarship and a WVU Academic Grant. He served as an Engineering 101 Teaching Assistant and was named the 2007 WVU Foundation Outstanding Senior and inducted into three academic honors organizations. During his college summers and before starting Vanderbilt University Law School, Chris worked as an Information Technology specialist with First United Bank and Trust in Oakland, and as a project manager for Sycamore Systems in McHenry and Frederick, Md. He also served as website project chairman for the Oakland Rotary Club and received the Rotary’s “Service Above Self” award for outstanding service and dedication. He also maintained his own computer consulting business, CL Corp., which supported small businesses with website design and computer networking, from 1998 to the time of his death. At Vanderbilt Law School, Chris was an M. Lee Smith Scholar and also held a Dean’s Scholarship. He was elected president of the Vanderbilt Bar Association, which leads all Vanderbilt student organizations and coordinates school-wide community service projects, in spring 2010. He was also Technology Editor of the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment and Technology Law. He served as a summer intern for Justice William C. Koch Jr. on the Tennessee Supreme Court in Nashville during summer 2009 and as a summer associate with Kilpatrick Stockton in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2010. He was a member of the Vanderbilt chapter of the Federalist Society, which he served as treasurer; he was also the liaison to the Executive Committee of the society’s national Intellectual Property Practice Group. He was a representative to the Young Lawyers Division of the Tennessee Bar Association and vice president of the Vanderbilt Intellectual Property Association. In addition to his academic and professional activities, Chris organized a racquetball league and an intramural soccer team at Vanderbilt. When Nashville, Tennessee, where Vanderbilt is located, experienced unprecedented flooding in April 2010, Chris was instrumental in organizing teams of student volunteers to help Nashville residents whose homes were flood damaged with clean-up. Classmates remember Chris as outgoing, extremely bright, and gifted organizer. “Chris was a central figure in the life of the law school,” said Vanderbilt Law Dean Chris Guthrie. “We are deeply saddened by the news of his death.” Born July 29, 1985 in Oakland, MD, he was the son of Steven and Mary (Crum) Lantz. He was preceded in death by paternal grandmother, Delilah Lantz. Surviving are: brother, Evan Michael Lantz, Oakland; Christopher’s fiancée Jillian Mazur, Nashville, TN, whom he met while both were attending West Virginia University; paternal grandfather, Smith Lantz, Oakland; maternal grandparents, William and Barbara Crum, Walkersville, MD, and several aunts, uncles, and cousins. Chris was a 2003 graduate of Southern High School and was Salutatorian of his class. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Chris' name to The Rotary Foundation, through the Oakland Rotary Club or to St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Oakland, MD. Family and friends will be received at the David A. Burdock Funeral Home, P.A., 21 N. 2nd Street, Oakland, MD, Friday, December 31, 2010 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services will be held Saturday, January 1, 2011 at 10 a.m. at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 126 Liberty Street, Oakland, MD with The Rev. Dr. Chip Lee officiating. Christopher’s legacy lives on through the generous donations of organs. Funeral services will be broadcast live on the internet and for online condolences and guestbook visit burdockfuneralhome.com　 　 The link for the broadcast is rtsp://www.ang-md.org:554/broadcast/garrettmedia/chrislantzfuneral.rm All lower case. The link will be active about 15 minutes prior to the service. Service Information