Updated: Industry Veteran and Morrow CEO Chalupny Passes Away

Christian Chalupny, president and CEO of Morrow Equipment, Salem, Oregon, passed away Sunday, Jan. 12. He was 78 years old.

Chalupny was born in Innsbruck, Austria, on Aug. 18, 1941, and was the son of the late Dr. Franz and Margarethe Chalupny.

He spent eight years in a Jesuit boarding school, Stella Matutina in Feldkirch, Austria, then graduated with a business degree from the University of Vienna.

He married his wife, Karin, in 1965 and went on to serve in the Austrian Army. In 1967, he went to work for Liebherr Austria, an internationally known company in Bischofshofen. In 1971, he and his family came to the U.S. working for Liebherr America in Newport News, Virginia. The family moved to Salem in 1982 where he began working for Morrow Equipment, where he assumed the position of president, having served for 38 years until his death.

Chalupny and his family were members of Illahe Hills Country Club, where they were active in golf and tennis. He was also a member of the Salem Tennis and Swim Club, where he played regularly twice a week. They've had a home in Black Butte since 1986 and formed many friendships there. Chalupny loved the mountains where he, his family, and friends spent many days hiking, sailing, and skiing.

He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Karin; son, Thomas Chalupny; son's fiance, Jamie Seymour; daughter, Caroline Mecham; his brother, Dr. Paul Chalupny, and wife, Gertrude; sisters, Roswitha Reisenauer, husband, Willi, Elizabeth Baumgartner, Margreth Muehlberger, husband, Dr. Volker; with many nieces, nephews, and cousins residing in Austria.

A reception in remembrance of Christian will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 1, at Illahe Country Club, Salem, Oregon. In lieu of flowers, donations in remembrance of Chalupny may be made to the Liver Transplant Dept., Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave., #A100, Cleveland, OH 44195.

Published in The Oregonian.