A Daughter-in-law's memory

Sadly, Eric's father, Elias, passed away this past week and he certainly will be missed. I post this picture of Elias, because I think it is remarkable how much Eric takes after him. I believe this was taken in Cuba, for a school ID or something. At a time before he met his wife. At a time before his kids were born. His new life in the U.S. was ahead of him.


As a daughter-in-law, your memories are a bit different as you really aren't there from the get-go. You get to hear all the childhood stories involving Eric (or his sisters) and laugh at the memories from an outsider point-of-view. Elias has always been supportive of Eric and I and always had informative and useful psych advice for me. Of course, you hate to burden the psychologist at home, but he was always willing to lend an ear when I needed it.

Pepper also appreciated his Grandpa Elias because leftover tasty morsels of whatever-was-for-dinner would always get stuck in the beard. And Pepper was eager to help clean up that situation.

Certainly, this family will miss him in an unmeasurable form. But these are some terrific people. Elena is a strong woman and Eric's sisters, Emmy and Eileen, will be there to support her along the way. He raised three terrific kids.