Marine biologist and diving instructor whose family owned Worldwide Diving Adventures-Kristy was born Feb. 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, CA to Bill Finstad and Rita Harmeling. She graduated from Oostburg High School, WI and received the Kohler Foundation scholarship. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara, CA, in Aquatic Biology, where she met her amazing husband Dan Chua. She inspired passion for the ocean through her business, Worldwide Diving Adventures.
Kristy was a strong, smart, and talented woman who shared her beautiful spirit with others as a NAUI Dive Instructor and Yoga Instructor. Kristy authored a book Digging In: A Guide to Community-based Habitat Restoration, which the California Coastal Commission still distributes. She had recently returned from a four-year journey sailing across the Pacific Ocean and was putting down roots in Lake Tahoe, CA.Kristy loved hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the California Redwood Forests, smelling the wildflowers and long walks along the beaches of Lake Michigan and Baja California. She also celebrated life with surfing, skiing, writing, playing guitar, art projects, making bread and spending time with family.
Even in this fast-paced digital age, Kristy was the type of person who would send a handwritten birthday card through the mail or a post card from some far-flung destination and get it to the loved one on time. She was a thoughtful and compassionate person who could light up a room with her smile and energy.
She is survived by her husband, Dan Chua; parents, Rita (Al) Harmeling, and Bill (Megan) Finstad; siblings, Jessica (Jeffrey) Finstad, Heather (Chris) Sawdon, Sarah Finstad, Brett (Lucia) Harmeling, and Andrew Harmeling; nieces and nephews, Sierra, Joseph, and Haley; aunts, Sally Harmeling, and Kathy (Roger) Voskuil.
Kristy was a strong, smart, and talented woman who shared her beautiful spirit with others as a NAUI Dive Instructor and Yoga Instructor. Kristy authored a book Digging In: A Guide to Community-based Habitat Restoration, which the California Coastal Commission still distributes. She had recently returned from a four-year journey sailing across the Pacific Ocean and was putting down roots in Lake Tahoe, CA.Kristy loved hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the California Redwood Forests, smelling the wildflowers and long walks along the beaches of Lake Michigan and Baja California. She also celebrated life with surfing, skiing, writing, playing guitar, art projects, making bread and spending time with family.
Even in this fast-paced digital age, Kristy was the type of person who would send a handwritten birthday card through the mail or a post card from some far-flung destination and get it to the loved one on time. She was a thoughtful and compassionate person who could light up a room with her smile and energy.
She is survived by her husband, Dan Chua; parents, Rita (Al) Harmeling, and Bill (Megan) Finstad; siblings, Jessica (Jeffrey) Finstad, Heather (Chris) Sawdon, Sarah Finstad, Brett (Lucia) Harmeling, and Andrew Harmeling; nieces and nephews, Sierra, Joseph, and Haley; aunts, Sally Harmeling, and Kathy (Roger) Voskuil.
Marine biologist and diving instructor whose family owned Worldwide Diving Adventures-Kristy was born Feb. 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, CA to Bill Finstad and Rita Harmeling. She graduated from Oostburg High School, WI and received the Kohler Foundation scholarship. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara, CA, in Aquatic Biology, where she met her amazing husband Dan Chua. She inspired passion for the ocean through her business, Worldwide Diving Adventures.
Kristy was a strong, smart, and talented woman who shared her beautiful spirit with others as a NAUI Dive Instructor and Yoga Instructor. Kristy authored a book Digging In: A Guide to Community-based Habitat Restoration, which the California Coastal Commission still distributes. She had recently returned from a four-year journey sailing across the Pacific Ocean and was putting down roots in Lake Tahoe, CA.Kristy loved hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the California Redwood Forests, smelling the wildflowers and long walks along the beaches of Lake Michigan and Baja California. She also celebrated life with surfing, skiing, writing, playing guitar, art projects, making bread and spending time with family.
Even in this fast-paced digital age, Kristy was the type of person who would send a handwritten birthday card through the mail or a post card from some far-flung destination and get it to the loved one on time. She was a thoughtful and compassionate person who could light up a room with her smile and energy.
She is survived by her husband, Dan Chua; parents, Rita (Al) Harmeling, and Bill (Megan) Finstad; siblings, Jessica (Jeffrey) Finstad, Heather (Chris) Sawdon, Sarah Finstad, Brett (Lucia) Harmeling, and Andrew Harmeling; nieces and nephews, Sierra, Joseph, and Haley; aunts, Sally Harmeling, and Kathy (Roger) Voskuil.
Kristy was a strong, smart, and talented woman who shared her beautiful spirit with others as a NAUI Dive Instructor and Yoga Instructor. Kristy authored a book Digging In: A Guide to Community-based Habitat Restoration, which the California Coastal Commission still distributes. She had recently returned from a four-year journey sailing across the Pacific Ocean and was putting down roots in Lake Tahoe, CA.Kristy loved hiking in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the California Redwood Forests, smelling the wildflowers and long walks along the beaches of Lake Michigan and Baja California. She also celebrated life with surfing, skiing, writing, playing guitar, art projects, making bread and spending time with family.
Even in this fast-paced digital age, Kristy was the type of person who would send a handwritten birthday card through the mail or a post card from some far-flung destination and get it to the loved one on time. She was a thoughtful and compassionate person who could light up a room with her smile and energy.
She is survived by her husband, Dan Chua; parents, Rita (Al) Harmeling, and Bill (Megan) Finstad; siblings, Jessica (Jeffrey) Finstad, Heather (Chris) Sawdon, Sarah Finstad, Brett (Lucia) Harmeling, and Andrew Harmeling; nieces and nephews, Sierra, Joseph, and Haley; aunts, Sally Harmeling, and Kathy (Roger) Voskuil.
Gravesite Details
Her husband did a paddle out for her off of Baja.
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