City mourns loss of true friend, Christy Springgate-Hill

Boulder City lost a great friend Friday when Christy Springgate-Hill lost her battle against cancer.

It was a profound loss felt by all who knew her.

I am proud to have called Christy my friend, too.

She is one of the first people who truly welcomed me to Boulder City when I became editor of the paper. As one of the community’s perennial volunteers, she was everywhere, and I knew I could count on her to help me navigate my way through the city’s events and organizations.

Her smile, her laughter, her selflessness and her generosity of spirit made it easy to like her. It didn’t take long for me to stop seeking her out as a guide, but instead to look for a hug, cheerful conversation or share a joke.

She touched so many lives, including hundreds of people who never met her or knew her name. And that was just fine with Christy. She never sought the spotlight. She just wanted to make sure that people were laughing, smiling and having a good time at the numerous events she helped organize and worked at.

The Spring Jamboree, Fourth of July Damboree, Rotary Club of Boulder City’s Best Dam Barbecue Challenge, Friends of the Arts events, and Every 15 Minutes were just the tip of the iceberg in her repertoire of activities.

Her friends at the Boulder City Chamber of Commerce stopped to honor her and recognize her devotion to the community during their annual awards and installation event Saturday night, just a day after she died.

That night, there were no tears. Just laughter. The evening’s festivities went on as planned. It was just as Christy would have wanted it. She never let her illness stop her from making sure all the t’s were crossed and i’s dotted when it came to event planning.

“She was a shining light of what you needed to be as a volunteer,” said Brina Marcus, chairman of the chamber’s board of directors. “She was an amazing woman.”

That sentiment was echoed over and over from everyone I spoke to about Christy.

“She was the shining, smiling, laughing example in my life that reflected joy to all in so many ways. I will forever be a better person because she loved me,” said Jill Rowland-Lagan, CEO of the chamber of commerce, who often looked to Christy to make sure that events were in good hands.

John Chase, her friend and fellow member of the Rotary Club of Boulder City, told me he considered her the club mom, sort of like a den mother for Cub Scouts.

“She had tons of energy and was loved by everyone in the club.”

Christy looked for the good in everyone and everything — including her own struggles with liver cancer.

In April, just before the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life fundraiser, Christy told me she was happy with how getting a diagnosis of liver cancer opened her eyes to the friends she had and what a special place Boulder City is.

The disease changed her outlook on life, making her aware of all that is positive in the world and bringing her closer to her family and friends.

Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.