Viva la raza

Noel sms-ed me round about 11am to ask me if I had heard the news. Eddie had been found dead! He had collapsed in the bathroom whilst brushing his teeth. His body was found with his toothbrush still in his mouth. Death must have been rather quick and immediate by the looks of things. I just felt numb at that moment. I did not know what to feel at that precise moment. The thoughts that raced through my mind was ‘How?’, and then later ‘Why?’.

It all just seemed so unfair. He was only 38. He had only just moved from Tampa to Phoenix about a month ago in order to be closer to family. His life read like a novel , which just gave whatever he said more gravity and significance. He had struggled through drinking problems and even substance abuse. There had even been rumours that he had resorted to using painkillers to ease the pain his body was in, but these were never substantiated. He had only last week celebrated 4 years of sobrietry.

To all that knew Eddie, what stuck out most was how humble he really was. He was the sort of guy you could talk to about anything really. He had been there and done that. He has faced his demons and overcome them. He went out of his way for his friends and loved ones. He also shared a great love for the Lord. It showed in his life. Whenever someone would come to him seeking advice or just a shoulder to lean on, he would invariably whip out his bible and show scripture verses pertinent to the issue at hand or just as a form of spiritual comfort in a time of despair.

Another facet of the man was his sense of humour. He often made you feel better about yourself, your situation and life in general. Seeing what he had been through in his professional and personal life, and how through it all he still managed to find it within himself to be a comfort and friend to those around him made you gain a new perspective on life and how your situation is never as hopeless at it seems.

To hear all the ways he has touched others and how much he loved his family would fill more pages than I could ever write here and ever hope to do justice to. So I will leave it to others to write their own personal epitaphs.

To you Eddie, we will always remember and treasure what you gave us. And yearn to in our own little ways touch others the way you touched and inspired us to.

He is survived by his wife, Vickie; and daughters Shaul, 14; Sherilyn, 9; and Kaylie Marie, 3.