Christian Yunis

I wanted to thank those who have posted here. Not sure it will get shared with all of you but wanted to make sure you are aware in case you are local that we are celebrating my brother's life in Concord, MA on October 13th if you would like to join us. It will also be live streamed. The details are at the bottom of the obituary page https://www.deefuneralhome.com/obituaries/Christian-A-E-Yunis?obId=32514706#/obituaryInfo

While I was devastated by the news that we all had lost Mr. Yunis, I was also deeply grateful for the chance our students and colleagues had for him to teach at Maimonides School in Massachusetts. His blend of professional and personal was unparalleled, and made him one of our most exceptional teachers. He is to date one of the best hires I've ever been lucky enough to make; I'll never forget our interview. After our main conversation, when I already knew I absolutely needed to hire him, Mr. Yunis came back to the table to say, quite simply and profoundly, "I'm not sure why I'm coming back to you right now, but I feel in my heart that I just need to say that I absolutely love teaching kids math, and I will do anything for them." Classic Mr. Yunis. His model as a teacher and a human make his memory a blessing for us all.

I feel so fortunate to have had Mr. Yunis as my math teacher and as my advisor for multiple years. Mr. Yunis was effortlessly cool, funny, and relatable, but he also commanded respect and challenged our thinking. Even though math was my strongest subject at Crystal, I remember being a bit intimidated going into BC Calculus as a younger student. Mr. Yunis was able to build up my confidence in that class while also pushing me to improve. I have so many fond memories of him just bantering and laughing with us about the most random things, like teaching us New England slang (like "wicked pissah"), his hatred of squirrels, or his annoyance at people pronouncing "Euler" incorrectly. Mr. Yunis made being a math nerd cool, and I am so grateful to have been taught and mentored by him.

Our family was so fortunate to meet and get to know Mr. Yunis as an excellent teacher, caring counselor and a motivating mentor. He was such an asset to the Crystal community. He will be missed and remembered fondly. Our hearts go out to his wife and child during this time and always.

I wanted to share a special memory of Christian that I hold dear. During our 2018 Mystery Murder Night, he embraced his role as the governor with such joy and enthusiasm, bringing his character to life with his infectious energy. Christian was always up for participating and making the most of every moment, whether at work or during our student trips together. His support, humor, and unwavering positivity were a true gift, and I was lucky to witness them firsthand. He was also a wonderful advisor to my son, Elias, always finding ways to encourage and uplift him. Christian's absence will be deeply felt, but the warmth and kindness he brought into our lives will remain with us forever. My thoughts are with Shab and Darius during this difficult time, as well as his family and his CSUS math family. With deepest sympathy.

Mr. Yunis, thank you for the profound impact you had on countless CSUS students, myself included. I remember your class as not only being one that instilled a deep love and learning of math, but also one in which my classmates and I were *always* laughing. You will be missed dearly.

So sad to hear the news about Mr. Yunis. He was one of my favorite teachers in high school and strengthened my love for math. He encouraged me to dive deeper outside of the class and had a unique gift to share his excitement and passion with his students. After we graduated, 2 years after he left our school, we set up a Zoom call with him to tell him we had graduated. Nearly everyone from our graduating class got on the call, even those who didn’t take his class. It takes a special teacher to be remembered by so many students years after he taught them. But that’s who he was. He was an incredible mentor and friend and while he will be greatly missed, his legacy will live on in each of his students for many years to come.

Mr. Yunis was my high school math teacher at Maimonides school for two years. Ever since I had Mr. Yunis as a teacher 6 years ago, whenever I study for an exam in university, I prepare as if I am going into a Mr. Yunis exam. Whenever I learn new concepts or bump into challenging material, I constantly ask myself, “what type of questions would Mr. Yunis ask us,” which always guides me in the right direction. A “Mr. Yunis question” is simply a question that is designed to make you think outside the box. Mr. Yunis made it clear to us that regurgitating information and robotically memorizing formulas was not enough to succeed in his class. Instead, he cared that we were critically thinking about the material, asking the “why” and “how” questions. What distinguished Mr. Yunis as a professor—besides his clear lectures, amazing energy, and ridiculous humor—was that he deeply cared about seeing his students grow as learners. I remember feeling devastated after bombing my first Mr. Yunis exam. When meeting with Mr. Yunis to go over the exam, I distinctly remember him telling me to not worry about the score. He told me that while grading my exam, he saw from my work that I was thinking about the problems critically and that I should be proud of myself for that. And of course we talked about strategies and ways to prepare better for the next exam. I remember being genuinely shocked by how much he cared about my growth. It is hard to put into words the amount that Mr. Yunis has inspired me as a student and as a person. As an incoming senior at Washington University in St. Louis, I can say without a doubt that no teacher has pushed me to my potential more than Mr. Yunis. The best two classes I’ve ever taken were 9th grade geometry and 10th grade algebra II with the most special teacher, Mr. Yunis. I will miss you, Mr. Yunis. Sincerely, Judah Kosowsky