PASSAGES: CHRIS LUMBRA

Chris Lumbra, enjoying some down time with his Paws Inn Play charges.

PASSAGES:

FUNERAL SATURDAY, MARCH 12, FOR CHRIS LUMBRA, 22,

SON OF FIELD TRIALER

BOB LEACH

Chris Lumbra, 22, of Marlborough, Conn., son of field trialer Bob Leach, died today (Monday, March 7, 2016) after a year-long battle with a rare type of cancer known as non-Hodgkins Burkitts lymphoma, at the Smilow Cancer Center in New Haven, Conn.

Among their many dogs, Chris and his dad, Bob, co-owned Little Madness, a pointer female that won third place in the 2009 National Walking Shooting Dog Futurity.

Chris worked for several years for fellow field trialer Dave O'Brien at Dave's doggie day care facility, Paws Inn Play, in Marlborough, Conn. Dave said, "Chris was an outstanding young  man. We will miss him very much. Words cannot express my feelings and sorrow."

Chris was born in Meriden on Nov. 25, 1993, and is survived by his mother, Susan Lumbra Fontoura and her husband, Jorge, of Wallingford; and his father Robert C. Leach and his wife, Tracy, of Marlborough. 

Chris was a graduate of Windham Tech in Willimantic, where he was enrolled in the electrical department and had been employed as an arborist until his illness. 

Calling hours at the Wallingford Funeral Home, 809 North Main St. Ext., Wallingford, Conn., will be held Friday, March 11, 2016, from 4 to 8 p.m. A funeral service will be held Saturday, March 12, 2016, at 10 a.m. at the Wallingford Funeral Home. Burial will be in St. John's Cemetery in Wallingford. In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of Chris may be sent to The Sisters' Project, PO Box 1643, Wallingford, Conn. 06492, which supports local residents who are battling cancer, or Smilow Cancer Center Closer To Free, PO Box 1849, New Haven, Conn. 06508.

Chris with Millie, at Paws Inn Play, 2011.