Christopher Claterbos

Christopher Claterbos died Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Lawrence Memorial Hospital of a sudden heart failure.

Chris was born February 1, 1953, in Ottawa, Kansas, the second son of Henry (Hank) Louis Claterbos and Jane Lee (Conway) Claterbos. He graduated from Claremont High School, Claremont, California, in 1970. Chris earned a Bachelor of Science, Civil Engineering, in 1975 and Master of Science, Civil Engineering, in 1981, both from the University of Kansas.

Chris was the third generation in the Claterbos family to serve in the United States military. He a member of the Navy ROTC while a student at KU and served in the United States Navy Reserve, Navy Construction Battalion, 1975-1979. He was on the Commandant’s Staff at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, supervising a team of 15 architects and engineers. He was a member of the Navy’s construction team that built the Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Washington State.

After leaving the Navy, Chris and his wife Joyce returned to Lawrence, KS, where he earned his Master’s degree, specializing in transportation engineering. His master’s research thesis was the first in the School of Engineering to utilize a personal computer for data analysis. After graduation, Chris was a senior research engineer for the Transportation Research Center, School of Engineering. He left academia in 1982 and began working in personal computers. He later moved into business analytics, working for Hall-Kimbrell, Terracon, Olsten Kimberly Quality Care, and Vlamis Software Solutions. He specialized in building Oracle-based business analytics systems for many businesses and organizations, including the US Food and Drug Administration, Walmart, the World Bank, and the American Petroleum Institute.

Chris was a internationally known expert in Oracle-based business analytics, teaching many training courses for clients and organizations. For years he presented technical seminars at the annual international conference of the Oracle Applications and Technology Users Group. He also published articles and co-authored `a book on Oracle-based business analytics.

After retiring from consulting in 2014, Chris was asked by Dean Neeli Bendapudi of the School of Business to develop a bachelor degree program in business analytics for the School. This degree program was one of the earliest undergraduate degree programs in business analytics in the United States and became the fastest growing undergraduate degree program in the history of the School of Business. During the first few years, Chris was the principle instructor in the degree program. Chris subsequently developed a Master’s in Business Analytics degree program for the School.

After retiring from KU in 2020, Chris was able to enjoy his hobby of building model trains, using 3D printing to build buildings and components for his train diorama. He was a lifetime lover of everything Disney, filling his home with art and memorabilia. Chris’s last family trip was to take his granddaughters to Walt Disney World in November, 2022. He was also a devoted fan of KU basketball.

He is survived by Joyce, his wife of 48 years, his daughter Jill and her husband Charles, two beloved granddaughters, Elizabeth (Ellie) and Evelyn (Evie), and his wife’s parents, Fred and Liz Aumick, whom he viewed as honorary parents. He is also survived by his older brother John and younger sister Mary. He was preceded in death by his parents, Hank and Jane, sister Janet and maternal uncle Jack.

The family will receive visitors from 6:00-7:30 pm., Wednesday, April 12, 2023, at the Rumsey-Yost Funeral Home. He will be buried later in Pioneer Cemetery in a private ceremony.

The family suggests memorials be sent to KU Endowment, in memory of Chris Claterbos, in lieu of flowers.