The following are the thoughts of Rachael Sigler, a good friend of Eric:
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I cannot say much more than what has already been written by so many, especially Bob, Amos, Scott B., and Scott C. This process has been made so much easier with the support of them all. All the kind words, pictures, stories, and memories of Eric that have been written here on Storm Track by everyone has helped so much as well. We have spent this past weekend keeping up with all your posts and reading them aloud to each other, including his family, in front of Eric. You could really feel the love that filled the room. It was all very moving.
Most of all I wanted to say that I know why I looked up to Eric and why I admired him. I knew he was well liked in the chase community and that he had a lot of chaser friends. What I did not know were all the people he has touched, inspired, and encouraged through his chase accounts, photography, emails, chats, etc. I had no idea he had so many followers. It is truly amazing and I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the kind words. It helped us all celebrate his life over the weekend in his presence.
I first met Eric in the spring of 2004 through Bob Fritchie. I started to get to know him over that spring break when we hung out at Bob’s and he made us watch all these old horror films including Return of the Living Dead, the original Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, the Army of Darkness, and the Evil of Dead. We ate at Los Dos Amigos a lot that week which was his restaurant of choice. Over the next year we became good friends. He stopped seeing me as “Bob’s girlfriend” and treated me just like any one of his close friends. He helped me buy my first ham radio and antenna set up and was very excited and eager to install it in my car, always wanting to drill holes somewhere, which is classic Eric. I, like many others, was obviously taken back by Eric’s amazing photography. He made it seem so simple to take breathtaking pictures. As any beginner, my first year of storm chasing with my new SLR did not produce good results. I spent many nights chatting with him online about how to take better exposures. He never once said my photos were bad, even though I knew they were, and was always willing to give me advice. The next year I was finally able to capture some great pictures thanks to Eric’s guidance. I have also become interested in instrumentation thanks to Eric as well. I think I always had this geek part of me that needed some coaxing to come out. Hanging around Bob and Eric so much brought out some very geek things in me, and I enjoyed talking about instrumentation with them on so many occasions. I always enjoyed going over to Eric house to work on the chase cars and watching them BS and wire everything up.
Over the years Eric and I had become very close friends, and I am completely devastated by all this. I will miss the quirky smile he always has, the way he taps his fingers on his chin and lips when he has a good idea or thinks of something funny, the passion he has for storms, the friend I spent so many hours talking to online in the evening while doing my homework, the Los Dos runs so he could get his tamales and his 2 sopapillas, getting to meet up with him on chases and talking about the day, his white t-shirts and kaki shorts, and most of all, the jokes and sense of humor that he and Bob shared. I know that I have left off many more things that I will miss than what I just listed off that will come to be in the day, weeks, months, and years to come. There are so many good memories of Eric that I will always smile and laugh at. When hanging out with Eric, I was always sure to have a good time. I am so happy I had the opportunity to get to know him on a personal level. He has made an impression on me that I will never forget and I will always miss him.
Eric, I want you to know that I admire you more than you will ever know. I am so honored to have had you as a friend, and you have made a lasting impression on me in so many ways. I will miss you forever.
~Rachael Sigler