Christopher Lantto

Christopher Charles Lantto was born on February 13, 1987, to parents Bruce and Jan Lantto, welcomed home by older sister, Lisa. As an infant, Chris was baptized at St. Robert Bellarmine in Redford, MI. Surrounded by a loving and boisterous family, he spent his childhood going on numerous camping trips, played many sports, and participated in Boy Scouts with his dad as his leader. At age 10, Chris was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes; where some people may have been brought down by this news, Chris was always the optimist and often used humor to deal with the everyday struggles that the disease presented. In High School, Chris’ competitive spirit really took root. By the time he was a senior at Churchill High School, he had become an All-Conference Varsity Soccer Keeper. In addition to his accomplishments as a soccer player, Chris was also a very passionate hockey player. His dad Bruce was his hockey coach in Livonia until Chris was 16 years old when Bruce unexpectedly passed away from a heart attack. As the story goes, Bruce had passed away while playing hockey and the rink did not have an AED machine. Through this challenging event, Chris went on to raise money to equip local rinks with AED machines so that what he went through could be used to save others. The day after Bruce’s passing, Chris completed his Eagle Scout project, obtaining the highest rank of achievement in Boy Scouts of America. As a senior at Churchill, Chris played Varsity hockey as a forward. After graduating high school, he went on to play one more season in Livonia where he captained the Sharks to a State Championship. Chris’ mother Jan provided him with unwavering support during this time. Chris moved to Grand Rapids to begin his college education starting at Davenport, he went on to graduate from Northwood University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 2014. During this time, Chris was often referred to as the “life of the party” and loved spending time with his cousins and friends. While living in Grand Rapids, Chris started dating Melissa Mato, having reacquainted at a mutual friend’s wedding. The two had previously attended school together since they were kids. Chris quickly adored Melissa’s daughter Kailyn, then 3 years old. After dating for a year, Chris moved home to Livonia with Melissa and Kailyn in their first home. As fate had it, they moved in on 1/13/13 to 11313 Mayfield Street. After a few months, Chris proposed to Melissa at a Detroit Tiger’s game tailgate surrounded by many friends and family. They were married June 27th, 2014. In those years, Chris not only fell in love with Melissa but also with Kailyn. Their relationship was so special. In every sense of the word, Chris cherished the role of being a father to her. Within Chris and Melissa’s first year of marriage, their son Beckett Edward was born in March of 2015. Chris was ecstatic to welcome a son who could follow in his footsteps. That same year, the family joined Our Lady of Victory Catholic Parish in Northville. In September 2019, Chris and Melissa welcomed their daughter MaKinley Therese. Her birthday was exactly 16 years to the date of Chris’ father Bruce’s passing. The two of them knew she was truly a blessing from heaven. Chris’ relationships with his family and friends were unmatched. The most important of those relationships was the love and devotion he had for his wife Melissa. They were happily married for seven years, building a family and a new house in South Lyon together in the process. Chris would often say how Melissa was the best momma in the world. He loved surprising her with flowers regularly; in fact, a local flower shop loved one of his original arrangements so much that they named it “The Melissa” and began stocking it on their display. Chris held many jobs throughout his life; for the last 7 years, he worked for Viotron International as a Sales Representative in Southeast Michigan. He considered it a blessing to be introduced to holistic healthcare through this role allowing him to help improve others’ health. Chris spent 16 years coaching soccer and hockey at the youth, high school, and collegiate levels, numerous seasons spent alongside his best friend Dane Baruzzini. Chris coached Varsity Soccer for several years at Livonia Churchill and Warren DeLaSalle. He also coached youth hockey at several associations, including Compuware, where he won a Regional Silver Stick Championship in 2015 and Fox Motors where he helped launch their AAA program. Chris spent the last 4 years as the Assistant Coach of Men’s Hockey at Lawrence Tech University (LTU), where he was an integral part of the program coaching the defense. In his 4 years at LTU, he recruited and mentored dozens of players, coaching hundreds during his tenure. After his dad passed away, Chris went on to pick up Bruce’s role at The Parade Company, volunteering to walk alongside Santa in America’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Detroit. He also spent many years volunteering at the St. Robert Bellarmine annual festival running Beebo’s Pizza Booth to help raise money for the parish. These are activities he enjoyed sharing with his family as he became a husband and father. Everything that Chris did, he did big. One example of this was how he celebrated holidays and birthdays. He would decorate their home for Christmas such that he’d rival Clark Griswold. During the holidays, he not only loved to spoil his own family, but he would take his kids shopping to bless other families throughout the community to ensure they had a full Christmas as well. He truly wanted his children to learn that type of generosity that was so close to his heart. It would not be uncommon for his children to wake up on their birthdays to a house full of decorations, gifts, and special surprises to remind them how special they are. Chris was also fanatic about planning vacations. As Kailyn says, “that was his thing!” Annual vacations to Hilton Head, SC with Melissa’s family, numerous trips to Disney World in Florida, and time away with close Lantto relatives were among some of his favorites. Chris also loved to open their home to family and friends, hosting visits and fun parties often. Chris’ favorite things to do were Daddy/Daughter dates with Kailyn, assistant coaching Beckett’s mini-mite hockey team, playing softball with his Father-in-law and Brother-in-law, and cooking dinner for his family. He never missed an opportunity to cheer on his kids’ activities; he was Kailyn’s biggest supporter, encouraging her to work hard in all aspects of life and leaving surprise notes of encouragement in her dance bag. He spent many late nights shuttling his kids back and forth to their activities and helping Kailyn with math homework. He loved to plan Beckett’s spirit day costumes and even figured out the perfect way to surprise Melissa with MaKinley’s gender reveal. He was a very involved father who loved and cherished his family. His legacy is one of love, fun, and helping others. Chris passed away on August 24, 2021 of complications from diabetes. He is loved and will be missed by many. Chris is survived by his wife, Melissa Lantto, South Lyon, MI. Children (Kailyn Tosto, Beckett Lantto, and MaKinley Lantto); Mother (Jan Lantto), Sister and Brother-in-law (Lisa and Matt Caves); Niece and Nephew (Emerson and Easton Caves); Father-in-law and Mother-in-law (Deborah and Steve Mato); Brother-in-law (Michael Mato); Grandmother-in-law (Joan Gillman); Cousins (Mike Loruss, Joe Loruss, James Loruss, Donna McGlade, Scott McGlade, Kaitlyn Lantto, Erin Boler, Clinton Rapp, Courtney Rapp, Whitney Burton, Alan Lantto, Josh Proben, Sam Proben, Nick Proben, Ben Proben, Megan Bigelow, Jessica Watts, Joel Lantto, Bree Nolan, Maddie Nolan, Kyle Nolan, and Emily Nolan); Aunts and Uncles (Keith and Maureen Loruss, Bill and Sandy Madden, Jim and Merri Lantto, Steve Burton, Tom and Nancy Lantto, Craig and Tina Lantto, Terri Proben, Lori Lantto, Linda Schumann, Mike McDonald). Chris is preceded in death by his Father (Bruce Lantto), Uncle (Dennis Lantto), Aunt (Dianne Burton), Grandparents (Dunstan/Madeline Lantto and Kenneth/Marie McDonald). In the words of Chris, something he said to Melissa often, “Thank you, for being you.” Donations to the family can be made out to the “Christopher Lantto Family Scholarship Fund”. Please share a memory of Chris on his Tribute Wall.