Christopher E. Grazioso

Christopher Grazioso, aka “Search”, was many things to many people. Husband, father, and the best kind of friend. He was truly a unique and special person. A goofy soul, an honest and loyal man, and a gentle giant…. He was kind, and his loves and interests excited the peace, wonder, humor, and creativity that burst from his very being. 

This was Chris’ nature and one that made him the unique and special person he was.  He loved to smile and loved to laugh. Along with his wife Barrett, their family was those they chose, and many a friend enjoyed a place at their table. 

Chris’ most cherished love was his girls and the life and home that he and Barrett had built for themselves and their daughters, Sophia, and Gianna. He was so impressed by Soph’s independence and confidence and by GG’s strength and maturity. He reveled in their goodness as humans (with a healthy dose of Dad’s goofy genes) and held great optimism for their futures and the adults they would become.

Chris loved music and it moved through his body like an electrical current. He needed it, lived on it, and it flowed back through him. Many are those that count Chris as one of their major musical influences. A published producer, beatmaker, drummer, and tastemaker, Chris was an encyclopedia of musical minutiae.  

The love Chris held for his family and music was most closely followed by his love for disc golf. 

With a long history of hacky sacks, and skateboards, his eventual run-in with disc golf was inevitable.  

Disc Golf is a land of unique and amazing people who share in its intersection of sport with nature. Chris always rooted for the underdog and was drawn by disc golf’s accessibility to people of all ages, shapes, and sizes; and its community of other characters with whom he immediately bonded.

Whether skilled or unskilled, competitive, or not, Disc Golf is a therapeutic blending of fresh air and exercise.

As with music, Chris influenced scores of people who picked up the sport over his 20-year playing career. He was an amazing coach who took as much joy in your progress as you did. He loved to see someone execute and succeed. He always had your back, and you knew it.

To grow the sport and provide additional recreation opportunities for the residents of Belchertown, Chris spearheaded the movement to build a public Disc Golf facility in cooperation with the Belchertown Selectboard and Recreation Department. This course is near its phase 1 completion and will be playable in the coming weeks. 

Friends and family created the Chris Grazioso Foundation to continue his mission to grow the sport of Disc Golf, support player development, and provide additional recreational opportunities in our local community.  The goal now is to continue to upgrade the course paths, tee pads, and signage in phases as funds and volunteers allow.  

We look forward to continued enhancements at the Belchertown Disc Golf Course. We believe that additional public recreation opportunities, supported by the community and utilized for additional school and Town programming, directly align with the Belchertown Community Plan.

Thanks to prior donations we recently provided the Belchertown School District with new Disc Golf goals/baskets and dozens of PDGA regulation discs. Through the work of the Chris Grazioso Foundation, the children of Belchertown will be able to take advantage of this equipment immediately during spring sessions and going forward! 

We are committed to pursuing discussions with other local schools and recreation departments in the event The Chris Grazioso Foundation may provide direction and support to similar disc golf initiatives.

There are many ways to honor those we have lost. Through the Chris Grazioso Foundation, we aim to encourage and increase public accessibility to a beloved recreational activity in honor of a beloved man whose character and life lived left behind a legacy for all.

Join us and Keep on Searchin'