WESTFIELD: 
Christine Ruth (Gogol) Alvord passed away unexpectedly on May 29, 2018. She was born on November 30, 1965 in Westfield, MA to Peter Gogol and Eva (DeRock) Gogol. She leaves behind her loving husband Daniel Alvord of 34 years, being happily married for 25, along with her two sons Bradley Alvord (19) and Sean Alvord (16). Also, left behind are her 3 brothers and 4 sisters.
Some of her beloved memories are with her sister Irene Gogol adventuring places and especially winning the Westfield river canoe races with her. She loved spending all her free time outdoors especially hiking any mountains she came across; some of her favorite mountains being Mount Monadnock, Sleeping Giant and Heublein Tower. Her dream was to someday hike Mount Washington. Her passion was kayaking on the Connecticut River and the Long Island Sound with her various groups, especially with her three closest friends Katie Cook, Steph Baver-Kexel, and Barbara Mulholland. Chris was a member of the Connecticut kayaking and hiking community on Meetup where she made many lasting friendships and shared her adventurous spirit. The Mean Girls, a group of four paddling friends, came out of this community. They shared a closeness that grew out of a shared love of kayaking and adventure seeking. The Mean Girls were anything but mean, sharing friendship, support, compassion, and a love of the outdoor adventures. Chris could often be found in “her happy place” on Long Island Sound leading the Mean Girls in search of a distance lighthouse, an outer island, or rough water. The bigger the waves, the more determined she was to paddle into them and play around and challenge herself. She could often be heard yelling “Life is good!”. Her excitement was infectious. Firtionadams.com
