Christian Wells Stratton

Christian Wells Stratton, 30, of Florence, SC looked into his soul and realized, “I cannot carry this body with me. It is too heavy. [...] But it will be like an old, abandoned shell. There is nothing sad about old shells" (The Little Prince).

Born to Christopher Bruce Stratton and Josie Williams Stratton on November 17, 1995 in Florence, SC, Christian was not for everyone, and he’d be the first to tell you that it was very much on purpose. He had zero interest in being agreeable, appropriate, or sociable. If anything, he got a lot of joy out of doing the exact opposite of what people would expect, just because he could.

He had a way of not just watching movies he loved, but immersing himself into that world. He hated to travel, but he was a recurring visitor to Hogwarts where he casted spells to all the muggles around him, to the Caribbean where he spent his days searching for treasure with pirates drunk off rum, and even to New York with a devil wearing Prada and running a fashion magazine. When he watched these movies, he not only was able to put himself into the movie, but he was able to bring the movie to life to those around him. Mute the television and the lines would still be heard as he acted the scenes out alongside the actors, after just one watch.

His music taste made no sense on paper, and yet made perfect sense in his playlist. No other person could fathom a world where Ozzy Osborne, Hozier, Lil Wayne, Elvis, and Johnny Cash played music together, but Christian did.

Much like his music taste, his humor was worldly. He could find the humor in places people didn’t dare look. Deeply inappropriate, cleverly sarcastic, and perfectly timed, he had a way of making you laugh even when you knew you shouldn’t.

The inappropriately hilarious, Christian, had a love for holidays. His Santa collection became so great that there were few spaces to put them. That didn’t stop him from continuing to collect his Santas. His excitement every year when it came time to decorate the tree(s) was too much to contain as he happily went into the attic to retrieve all the decorations. The trees started off as one and over the years he somehow managed to have 8 Christmas trees, all different themed: Batman, Star-Wars, and the Grinch.

If someone told him not to do something, it was basically an invitation. Case in point: banned books. He had started making it his mission to read the books people deemed inappropriate just out of spite. The idea of someone telling him what not to think didn’t sit right with him.

To strangers, he was quiet, distant, sometimes even rude. But to those that loved him and knew him, he was filled with humor that never stopped, diarrhea of the mouth that constantly flowed, and an urge to end any conversation with “that’s what she said”.

Christian wasn’t polished, predictable, or approachable. He was real: unfiltered, unapologetic, and truly unforgettable. He didn’t live his life trying to make people comfortable; he lived it as himself. If that occasionally rubbed people the wrong way… well, that sounds like a them problem.

Many people may have thought he was as cold as an iceberg, but when he was with his children, that iceberg melted. His love for his son, 8-year-old Jaice, flowed through every trip to the trampoline park, every countless hour spent playing outside, and every game played together, on a console or overtaking a room. His love for his baby girl, 11-month-old Ameri, showed like no one had seen. His icy exterior not only melted, but softened. Through constantly walking her around to go to sleep, his smiling as he reported to anyone that would listen about what she was up to that day, and holding his baby girl any chance he got, his love was not only evident, but was rock solid, never wavering.

The only person on earth who could balance Christian was his partner of 10 years, Erica Burgess of Florence, whom Christian loved fiercely and was devoted to. She knew when to encourage him to fly and when to rein him in. She was the person whom he could say nothing at all to but everything with.

If he were still here he would think this was too sentimental and it could have been done in a few words. Just know that life is much quieter, less funny, and much less interesting without him.

The force was strong in this one; it was.

Christian is survived by his sister Jenerette Stratton of Columbia, Special brother D (Davian (Sunina)) Peterson of Lugoff, Grumpy and Grammy (Joe and Monica Williams) of Mullins, Special Grandmother Betty Green of Florence, Special Aunt Gin Gin (encourager-of-his-inappropriate-humor Regina Parrish (Uncle John)) of Irmo, Aunt Julie Johnson (Leonard) of Lamar, Uncle Kenny Stratton (Pam) of Lamar.

Christian was preceded in death by grandparents Bill and Audrey Stratton of Lamar; Great Grandparents Raford and Dorothy McABee, Sr. of Anderson; Special Grandfather Carl Green of Florence.

Sarcastic t-shirts, pjs, robes, and Crocs are welcome as we gather to celebrate the gift of Christian.

A celebration of his life will be held at 2:00 Friday, March 27, 2026  in the fellowship hall of Lamar United Methodist Church.

In lieu of flowers, contributions to support Christian’s sweet babies Jaice and Ameri as they grow up can be made to The Batman Family Fund (through Venmo, Zelle, Cashapp, or the everloved website).

In addition, it would be appropriate to donate a book from a banned book list to your local library in honor of Christian.

https://venmo.com/u/Batman-Family-Fund

https://cash.app/$BatmanFamilyFund

https://everloved.com/life-of/christian-stratton/