Christiaan Wilkinson Huff Conover died unexpectedly at the age of 35 on May 8, 2024 at his home in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Christiaan’s sudden death of a pulmonary embolism stuns all those who knew and loved him.

Christiaan was born on Oct. 12, 1988, in Watertown, New York. He lived in nine states and on two continents before his twelfth birthday, moving to Annapolis with his family in April 2001. However, he considered the family’s cottage on Boston Island, Maine his true home. He was a lifelong, die-hard New England sports fan, even during the cursed years. His mother will miss their annual Red Sox game outing, and his uncle Chris will miss texting with him throughout every Patriots game. Christiaan never met a vehicle on land or sea that he didn’t immediately love and master. He learned to sail at age 10, taking to it instantly. He sailed seven seasons as a varsity sailor with Broadneck High School, culminating in a top-14 placement nationally his senior year. His love of cars was well known, and he especially enjoyed off-road adventures with his USCG friends. He was still very close with his many childhood friends from Annapolis and had recently formed new connections in Chesapeake Beach, his home since 2018.

One of his proudest achievements was earning the rank of Eagle Scout in 2007 as a member of Troop 783. He was also the Senior Patrol Leader for his 2006 National Jamboree Troop, which honed his leadership skills immensely.

Christiaan joined the U.S. Coast Guard as a reservist in 2008. He served at stations in Woods Hole, Annapolis, and Norfolk. He deployed twice, to Papua, New Guinea and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At Gitmo he took up the hobbies of RC cars, karaoke, and was known for holding lively debates with his shipmates while out on long patrols. He had separated from the USCG only last month, ending over 15 years of military service, a family tradition. No one was prouder of him than his retired Army father.

Christiaan was always a technology whiz. He started his own computer assistance company at age 15. His career culminated with GitLab, where he was employed beginning in 2019, ultimately rising to Director of the Americas. He loved managing his team and the relationships he had developed with his colleagues. He was a good listener and a thoughtful mentor. He was an avid traveler and connoisseur of airport lounges and delighted in discovering new places to love and learning about the finer things in life.

His life is celebrated by his parents, Jeff and Alice, his brother and sister-in-law Sean and Kate, his nephew Levi, his sister and brother-in-law Cashin and Forrest, his rescue dog Brewer, his extended family, and many hundreds of friends. He never met a stranger and could talk to anyone about anything. His loyalty, engaging personality, and wicked sense of humor will be missed by his loved ones every single day, especially by his brother and sister with whom he was so close.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Annapolis, Maryland. It will be livestreamed at https://youtube.com/@SaintMargaret?si=9cq2j0lp2Lh-UPXj

Christiaan’s generosity and love of helping others was legendary. To honor his servant’s heart, the family requests that donations be made to the following organizations in lieu of flowers:

Southport Island Association (to help his neighbors in need at his favorite place on earth) southportisland.com

Humane Society of Calvert County (where he rescued his beloved dog Brewer) humanesocietyofcalvertcounty.com

Coast Guard Foundation (to help Coasties and their families) coastguardfoundation.org