By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
October 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Christopher J. Klicka, Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) Senior Counsel and Director of State and International Relations, died yesterday at the age of 48 after a 15-year battle with multiple sclerosis.
An attorney, spokesman, lobbyist, and homeschooling husband and father, Chris is survived by his wife, Tracy, their seven children (ages 11-21), and his parents, Ardath and George Klicka.
“Chris was both a people person and a goal person. He cared deeply about people, but was also driven to always do more!” said HSLDA President J. Michael Smith in a press release.
“He was the most determined person I ever met in my life. Even with all the things he accomplished every day at HSLDA, he continually wanted to tackle new challenges and serve homeschoolers in more and better ways. He was so focused on the homeschooling world, but he was also very much focused on his family and dedicated to raising his children.”
Chris was an integral part of the Home School Legal Defense Association's staff for 24 years, being HSLDA's first full-time employee, first executive director, and first full-time attorney.
He believed passionately that homeschooling was the best educational method for children and demonstrated that passion in every area of his life.
“Chris's accomplishments as a lawyer for homeschooling are clear and of value that cannot be overstated. He was one of the most important pioneers of our movement,” said HSLDA Chairman Mike Farris.
“He believed that this truly is God's way to teach children to love God. He believed it deeply. His conviction was infectious. He was a man of single-hearted devotion that I have never, ever seen equaled. The passion that Chris felt for the mission to which God called him never, ever, ever, ever dimmed, even slightly.”
The HSLDA is the world's leading non-profit legal defense organization for homeschooling families and represents thousands of such families in the US, Canada and Europe. The group has spent years lobbying in Washington and at the state level for the rights of homeschoolers under the US constitution and through affiliation with European groups for those who operate in countries where homeschooling is under threat.
Read HSLDA's tribute to Christopher J. Klicka here.