Christopher W. Roell was born on June 14th, 1993 in Mentor, Ohio. Christopher started playing

soccer when he was just 3 years old. Christopher developed his passion for soccer while attending

practice with his older brother Bernie. According to Christopher “he was born to play soccer” and

devoted all of his free time to it. With all the hard work and determination he put in, Chris was

accepted to a D1 Soccer program: University of California - Santa Barbara. Unlike many others,

Christopher was invited to dress for games and saw playing time as a D1 freshman. His dreams of

working his way to becoming a professional soccer player were coming true and his family was

very proud.

On February 17th, 2012 a devastating accident changed Christopher’s path forever.

Christopher fell 40’ at ‘The Bluffs Beach Trail’ and sustained serious injuries. Being one of the

few to survive the fall, he was rushed to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where he was placed into

a medically induced coma. During this time it was determined that Christopher had suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI)

during his fall. After a week of being in the hospital, Christopher was awoken from his coma where he began his 6 week

recovery at the hospital.

With the same hard work, determination and drive Christopher used to achieve his first goal, he worked hard and

made a remarkable recovery that even shocked the hospital staff. From the perspective of the medical staff, he was

expected to make a full recovery. With this news our family was hopeful, but we soon came to find out that there was

much to learn regarding TBI’s. Once Christoper returned home, he quickly wanted to return to a ‘normal’ life. Christopher

took the summer to recover. He enrolled into a local community college so he could focus on returning to a full-time

university. Christopher's new path led him in the same footsteps as his older brother Bernie III and he was enrolled at

Bloomsburg University.

Over the next few years Christopher’s TBI started to win the war he was battling with himself daily. As a family

we tried to provide love, counseling, and medical support to assist how we could with this mental health, but part of the

battle was getting him to understand that he needed the help.

Tragically on February 17th, 2018 we unexpectedly lost Christopher after 6 years of him battling the injuries from

his TBI diagnosis. Chris left behind a loving mother: Jennifer Roell, Father: Bernard Roell Jr, Brother: Bernard Roell III,

Sister: Sarah Roell and many other loved ones. Christopher spent 24 years of his life chasing his dreams and being a

helping hand to those that were around him. He would always say “it takes mind over matter to achieve your dreams”.

After Christopher's passing, our family thought there was no better way to honor his memory than helping others

just as he did throughout his life. The Chris Roell TBI foundation was started in 2018 to help raise awareness of Traumatic

Brain Injuries and provide medical financial assistance to families suffering from TBI’s. Our foundation has raised

$18,000.00 so far in support of TBIs and all proceeds from our Starbrick Music Festival will go towards efforts in making

an impact for mental health and TBI research.

Christopher holds a very special place in our hearts and our family would love for everyone to share in his love

for others. Thank you to all who have already supported our cause and those who continue to support our loving son and

others suffering from TBIs!