Eric

Eric Thor Hanson
October 9, 1964 — August 30, 2010

This entry is dedicated to the memory of Eric Hanson. Eric went home to be with the Lord this last Monday evening after a long battle with brain cancer. He leaves behind his wife Beth and their ten year old daughter Anya. I am moved to tears as I write this entry because of the hole that his loss leaves in so many hearts. I became friends with Eric while attending the Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle where we were "older students". Eric taught me to laugh at myself and our mutual Scandinavian heritage (as you can see from the above photo he was also proud of his Scandinavian heritage). I also witnessed Eric and Beth's blossoming romance while at Bible college and became friends with both of them. Eric and I shared a passion to serve the Lord in missions and Eric was not embarrassed about the Gospel. Once, Eric and Beth came marching into our school auditorium with a giant styrofoam plane that said "Help send Dave to Madagascar". At the time I was raising support to serve as a volunteer in the Malagasy Lutheran Church. Eric made an effort to be at the most significant events of my life as you can see from the wedding photo below. In the photo we are with our other Bible school friend Paul Hamidi. God blessed Paul and I with the opportunity to visit Eric this last June. Eric knew he was dying, but he was not a man without hope. He spoke honestly about his death and asked Paul and I to be additional uncles for his daughter Anya (just writing that makes me cry). I know that Eric is in heaven with our Lord, but I grieve the loss of a man who served the Lord with joy and laughter in China, Africa and the United States. Please pray for Eric's family and friends as they celebrate his life at a memorial service tomorrow.

(Photos in this post by Susie Hamidi)
Eric's own web site: www.caringbridge.org/visit/babaanya