I got the call around 7pm on Friday May 16th. Chris and I were shopping at the mall with Maureen, Dane and the three little kids. Dane handed me his phone and said there was an emergency. A family friend was crying on the phone, and I knew it was a "death call" (it had just been the one year anniversary of my sister Caitlin's death, one year since I got the last call like this) - time seemed to stop, and my first painful thought was that something had happened to one of my daughters - I felt life drain out of my body. I heard "Eric was killed in an accident" - at that moment, the entire world seemed to shift. My poor children - this is the kind of pain I can't imagine a child having to endure. I had to tell Dane, I had to then tell the girls - but they knew. Chris immediately drove Dane and I to Montana ... we stayed there for a week, and then brought the girls back with us to Seattle. We now are working through all the grief, the pain, the anger. Working towards understanding this terrible tragedy, working towards having all 6 kids full time, working towards moving, working towards loving all of our children with every ounce of our hearts, working towards healing and growing as a family. Working towards reminding Dane, Sierra and Olivia every day how much their dad loved them, and how so many of his wonderful talents live on in them.
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I had the pleasure of meeting Eric at Eastside Brick in March of this year. He took a couple hours out of his day to show us around and talk about his vision for Eastside Brick, the Libby project and his FJ45. I remember thinking what a switched on cookie this guy is... and even though I only knew him for two hours, his warmth & generosity stayed with me. I only learned of his passing yesterday. My sincerest condolences to his friends and family.
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