Chris M. Nechodom

Chris Nechodom, age 54, of Combined Locks passed away peacefully surrounded by his family after a hard fight with septic shock on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Chris was born on May 5, 1970 to Michael Nechodom and Jean DeBruin. He graduated from Freedom High School in 1988, where he later joined the United States Navy in 1989. He served for nine years where he was stationed in Norfolk, Virginia and worked on the USS Saipan (LHA-2) ship where he was deployed overseas to southwest Asia during the Gulf War. He was honorably discharged in 1998 as a Master at Arms 3rd class petty officer from the Navy. Upon his return home, he finished his college education in criminal justice and began working as a police officer and later became the Chief of Police for the Town of Freedom, retiring in 2020. 

When Chris was not serving his community, he cherished the time spent with his family and friends. He loved taking family fishing trips up north and to North Dakota, as well as going on trips to Wisconsin Dells. He loved the Packers, collecting memorabilia, and doing fantasy football with his friends. He loved working on computers and constantly getting the newest and greatest models of technology. But most importantly, he devoted his life to his nephew and niece, Kaden and Ariya, and his new kitty, Teeger. 

Chris is survived by his father, Michael (Pat) Nechodom; his mother, Jean (Vic) DeBruin; and his sister, Amy (Daniel Malone) Jansen. He is further survived by his pride and joy: his nephew, Kaden (Atlanta) Jansen, and niece, Ariya Jansen; stepsiblings: Tammy (Dan) Wiegand, Bill Duncan, Shannon Pomeroy, Laura (Chris) Van Veghel, Brian (Jacki) Piontek, Tim (Vicki) Piontek, Paula (Brad) Cherney; his friends: Dan Clearwater and Scott Sweetman; as well as many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, step nieces, step nephews and friends.

Chris was preceded in death by his grandparents, Robert and Lorraine (Vaubel) Nechodom, Lloyd and Dalores (Johnson) Moser; his brother, Brian Nechodom; brother-in-law, Todd Jansen; step brother-in-law, Corey Havlovitz; step sister-in-law, Cindy Duncan; his uncles: James Nechodom, Mike Kelly, Rocky Meidam; his aunt, Debra Nechodom; cousins: Stephenie Langner, Melissa Nechodom, and Kevin Nechodom; step-niece, Nicole Havlovitz; and his fur-babies: Nikko, Apollo, Nemo and Norman.

A celebration of Chris’s life will be held on Friday, December 27, 2024. Family and friends are welcome to visit at the Verkuilen-Van Deurzen Family Funeral Home Freedom Location, N3972 Columbia Ave, Freedom, from 4:00 p.m. until the time of the service at 6:00 p.m. For online condolences, please visit www.verkuilenfh.com. In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been established in Chris’s name.

On behalf of our family, we would like to thank the Verkuilen-Van Deurzen Family Funeral Home as well as the doctors and nurses in the ICU unit at St. Elizabeth Hospital for all your support and empathy during this difficult time.