Eric Hyer, 32; quietly
generous, he kept family, friends united
Profile
Eric Hyer's hair was just
growing back in. Friends said he'd recently cut off his long ponytail and
shipped it to a charity group that uses donated hair to make wigs for children
with cancer.
"It's just the kind of guy he
was," says Brian Allsworth, a friend of Eric's since the two met in 1988 as
sophomores at Scituate High School. "He did it and didn't make a big deal out
of it."
Eric, 32, seems to have passed
through many people's lives as a quiet, generous man. He was a mellow guy who
got along easily with everyone, but who had no problem doing things alone.
"Sometimes he would just go out
by himself," Allsworth says. "As far as I know, he went to the Great White
concert by himself. He was just following a different drummer all the time."
Eric had a knack for being the
channel through which relatives and old friends kept in touch.
In November, Allsworth said,
Eric called a bunch of high school friends and got them to meet up in Warwick
for a few games of pool. Chris Arruda, another victim of The Station fire, was
one of the guys who showed up that night. This was typical behavior, Allsworth
said; Eric just liked getting people together.
The youngest of five brothers,
Eric led a simple life. He loved cookouts, fishing, and family gatherings. He
also loved kids, and could spend hours hanging out with his nieces and
nephews.
"He would do anything with
anybody and have fun doing it," says his brother, Mark Hyer. Mark described
Eric as the one who kept his four older brothers talking. He remembered
birthdays and anniversaries, and he always called, just to check in.
"Once you met him, it was like
everyone was part of his family," Mark Hyer said. "He brought a little bit of
love and life to everybody."
Eric even managed to get Mark
and their father talking again after 12 years of silence.
At Mark's home in Coventry,
Eric's belongings are now in boxes, many of them full of reasons why Eric went
to The Station to see the band Great White play.
"There's like seven boxes of
CDs," Mark said. "He loved music, all kinds."
Eric lived in Coventry with
Mark and his wife, Colleen, and their children, Mark Jr., 12, and Jake, 5, for
several months when he moved back to Rhode Island last summer. Before that,
Eric had lived in Texas for about eight years. He had recently moved in with
relatives in Scituate.
Eric was especially close to
his nephew Mark Jr. Most Sundays, the two went to Best Buy together, or to
Boston Market for roast beef sandwiches. Sometimes, they would even fight like
brothers.
"But that's just because we
were so close," young Mark said. In fact, he added, grinning, "he called me
the best nephew."
"You were all the best
nephews," Mark Sr. said.
-- Neil Shea
2.28.2003
Eric J. Hyer, 32, of
Scituate; loved attending rock shows
Obituary
A memorial Mass will be
celebrated Monday for Eric J. Hyer, 32, of Nipmuc Road, Scituate.
Born in Middleboro, Mass., a
son of H. Richard Hyer of Burleson, Texas, and Dawn P. (Savage) Fuller of Red
Oak, Texas, he had lived in Coventry before moving to Scituate six months ago.
Mr. Hyer worked as a binder for
Auto Trader for seven months. He had worked for TRA Inc., a wastewater
treatment facility in Texas, for seven years.
He loved to attend rock
concerts.
Besides his parents, he leaves
four brothers, Douglas R. Hyer of North Richland Hills, Texas, Mark P. Hyer of
Coventry, Scott E. Hyer of Taunton, and Andrew Hyer of Morristown, N.J.; and
four aunts and two uncles.
source Providence Journal
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