Stanley Keith Erickson, age forty-five, progressed to brain death on Monday, June eighteenth, two-thousand-eighteen, at approximately eleven-oh-seven in the morning at Intermountain Medical Center in Murray, Utah. His final moments were not evidently painful, even if disorienting, as a catastrophic stroke caused massive hemorrhaging in the deeper tissues of Stanley’s brain. Despite whatever doubts he may have been having, whatever fears may have gripped him, or whatever regrets he may have held, his passing was peaceful, painless and comfortable.
He slipped into unconsciousness in the presence of his brightest light, closest protector, and youngest child, Sanefriah Monique Erickson. Stanley was born on April twenty-fifth, nineteen-seventy-three, at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to Stanley Kirk Erickson and Joy Linnette (Fullmer) Hope. Stanley was married to Carrie Jean (Munro) Larkin on August seventeenth, nineteen-ninety-six, though the marriage later ended in divorce.
During their time together, Stanley and Carrie gave the world two children, Jordan Cadence Erickson on November nineteenth, nineteen-ninety-four, and Sanefriah Monique Erickson on November twenty-fourth, nineteen-ninety-seven. After the divorce, Stanley took on custody of his children, and led the battle of parenthood mostly alone for the next two decades. Many words could describe Stanley, but few encompass him so completely as ‘compassionate,’ ‘considerate,’ and ‘dedicated.
’ Through his flaws, through the trials that tested his heart, mind, and spirit, Stanley loved with all his heart, and sought only to teach his little ones how to lead good lives, and to take a better path than he had walked. He wanted only for his children to lead a life he had never seen, to find a purpose he had never learned how to perceive but knew had to be there. Stanley had few true passions, but one was games.
It mattered little what sort of game it was, be it played on a board, with dice, or with a mouse, keyboard, or console controller. It was this that similarly captured his elder son, and common ground was forged quickly. The ultimate adventure had yet to capture the boy, though, for when Jordan was attending high school, Stanley’s antics with tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons and Rifts truly set the father’s legacy in motion.
Stanley eagerly helped his son learn the game, and his son eagerly lapped up the tremendous capacity for wild tales his father displayed. Sanefriah’s common ground was more difficult to forge with her father. Being a young woman, and Stanley a single father, Sanefriah rarely found a consistent motherly figure, and frequently made choices questioned by those around her.
Seeing attacks from all sides, the firebrand lashed out, sometimes even at Stanley. It took common trial-by-fire to forge a bond that would stay with the trio till a corner fell from the triangle. The three struggled to find roofs to place over their heads for some four years after Jordan’s graduation in twenty-thirteen, and during that time, rather than be driven apart by the stresses of destitution and poverty, Sanefriah often gave Stanley a laugh or a smile that brought him forward.
It was always the little one whose fire burned the brightest in the dark. Stanley left behind dearly beloved kindred who will miss him dearly. These include his partner, Sheila Kay Munro, his niece which may as well have been a step-daughter, Carly Elizabeth Flora, his mother Joy Linnette (Fullmer) Hope, his father Stanley Kirk Erickson, his sister Kirtricia Yvette (Erickson) Byers, his brother Sean Kenneth Erickson, his grandmother Bertha Clements Fullmer, his half-siblings Erica and Chris, his step-mother, myriad aunts and uncles, and of course, his dearest treasures, his son and daughter, Jordan and Sanefriah.
Though Stanley lived only what could be called half a life, he left many poignant and powerful lessons for those that remain to mourn his passing. Lessons such as the importance of honesty, of independence, of the value of all life and not merely our own, among others will permeate our thoughts as he remains in our hearts. Most of all, though, this man taught us the value and meaning of happiness, and just how important it is to never give such a gift as a smile less than it deserves.
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