It is with profound sadness, but also with the hope we have in Jesus Christ, that we announce the Promotion to Glory of Chrisie Villanueva, who passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at the age of 43.

Chrisie was born on April 23, 1983, at Brooklyn Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. She was the daughter of the late Janet Palmeri. Although her biological father was not a part of her life, Chrisie was blessed with the man she knew, loved, and called her father, Carlos Clavijo, who gave Chrisie as much of himself, his love, and his support as he could throughout her life. Chrisie was a Brooklyn girl through and through. She grew up on Truman Street in Bushwick before eventually moving to the area of Hart Street and Wilson Avenue. Those streets were part of her story. One of the simple memories that captures something beautiful about Chrisie was her
love of sitting near the fire escapes and gazing up at the sky. In the middle of the noise, movement, and challenges of growing up in New York City, Chrisie could still find a moment to simply look up. Her childhood was not always easy, and she attended various elementary schools throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. She later attended P.S. 83 in the Bronx for middle school and Lehman High School. As an adult, Chrisie continued her education and graduated from trade school as a
Medical Assistant in 2012.

Of all the things Chrisie accomplished and all the titles she carried throughout her life, there was perhaps no title she treasured more than Mom. For years, Chrisie believed her little family was complete. Then came June 13, 2017.
On that day, Chrisie's heart somehow found room for an entirely new kind of love when she was given the joy of becoming a grandmother to her precious Zoey.
And just like that, another chapter began. Chrisie entered what her family lovingly remembers as her "Nani phase." She embraced Nani with the same enormous heart with which she had embraced
motherhood. Zoey quickly became another center of her universe, and the love Chrisie had always poured into Alex and Heaven now spilled over into the next generation. Her Lil Man Alex, her daughter Heaven, and her granddaughter Zoey were more than names on Chrisie's family tree. They were her heart.
They were her world. They were, in so many ways, her very existence.
Yet there was another love that came to define Chrisie's life-the love she found in Jesus Christ.

In 2014, while attending Bethel Pentecostal Fellowship Church in Patterson, Louisiana, Chrisie came into a personal relationship with the Lord. What began there, continued to grow and transform her throughout the remainder of her life.
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Looking back over Chrisie's journey, her life was a beautiful example of what Christian's call God's prevenient grace-the grace of God already at work in our lives before we even recognize Him.

Long before Chrisie fully understood what God was doing, He was working.
Before she knew Him, He knew her. Before she sought Him, He was pursuing her.
Through every street in Brooklyn, every hardship, every disappointment, every victory, every mistake, every tear, and every moment spent staring toward the sky from those New York fire escapes, God was writing a story that Chrisie herself could not yet see. And when Chrisie finally came to know Jesus personally, the difficult chapters of her past became part of the testimony she could use to reach somebody else. Chrisie had a special place in her heart for people who were struggling. She understood what it meant to come from difficult circumstances, and because of that, she could see people differently. When she met someone whose life or background reminded her of her own, Chrisie didn't simply see where that person was at that moment. She understood something about where they had
been. She knew firsthand that someone's beginning did not have to determine their ending. She wanted people to know the same Jesus who had changed her life.

In 2020, Chrisie began faithfully serving the Lord through The Salvation Army in McKeesport, Pennsylvania and less than a year later, became their caseworker where she was able to make an It became a ministry. It became a life that touched other lives; and while those who loved Chrisie now grieve because she is no longer physically with us, we thank God for the 43 years He allowed her to walk this earth.
We thank Him for every person she prayed for. Every person she helped.
Every person she encouraged. Every laugh. Every bit of sass. Every smile. Every "I love you." Every moment she spent she spent being Mom.
Every moment she spent being Nani. Every life is different because Chrisie Villanueva was here. There is something especially beautiful when we think back to that young Brooklyn girl who loved sitting near the fire escape and gazing toward the sky. We cannot know what she was thinking about in those moments or what she imagined her future might hold.

But today, the people who love Chrisie find themselves doing something very similar. We look toward Heaven, and when we do, we remember Chrisie.
A Brooklyn girl, a daughter, a sister, a mother, a nani, a prayer warrior and a soldier; a woman whose life became a testimony to the grace of God, and most importantly, a child of God who finally made it Home.

Family and friends are invited to attend a memorial service and celebration of life on Sunday, September 27, 2026 at 5:00 PM at the Salvation Army, Washington Worship & Service Center, 60 E. Maiden St., Washington, PA 15301.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the ANTHONY L. MASSAFRA FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICE INC., Domenic M. Ferrari, Funeral Director; 40 Second St. Ext., Carroll Township/Donora, PA 15033, (724) 379-6900.