Our Story
The Christi Center is named after Christi Lanahan, a UT Junior and Westlake High alumna who was tragically killed by a drunk driver in 1985.
For her mom and stepdad, Susan and Don Cox, life was permanently altered in an instant. In a state of shock and consumed with grief, they found few community resources to support grieving families.
Drowning in grief and facing great personal and marital challenges, the Coxes and Christi’s brother, Sean Lanahan decided to reach out to others instead of retreating. On the two-year anniversary of Christi’s death, they founded the nonprofit “For the Love of Christi”, with a mission to provide free, ongoing grief support to Central Texans who have experienced a loss of a loved one.
In the early years...
Susan and Don organized grief support groups at various locations around Austin, eventually acquiring the property on Hancock Drive where the Christi Center currently stands. With the help of friends and supporters, they added an annex designed to accommodate more people and larger support group sessions, and later, a family building to provide dedicated space for children/teens and additional staff offices. Under Susan and Don’s leadership, these buildings were completed with full community support and the Christi Center owns these buildings debt-free.
In 2010, the Christi Center expanded to Williamson County with a satellite location in Georgetown.
Over the years, the community of staff, volunteers, and supporters Susan and Don brought together have served well over 100,000 people who seek help in a time of loss.
Now retired from day-to-day operations, Susan and Don continue to volunteer as group facilitators, serve on the Board, and give generously of their time and resources. The Christi Center is their legacy to our community.
“Can you imagine someone applying for a job to work in the grief area? They put their heart and soul into being here. Their reward comes when, in the midst of grief, they hear the unexpected and welcome sound of laughter, reminding all that after the grief, comes healing and hope.”
Don CoxCo-Founder
