Eric John Ekblad, age 67, passed away June 7, 2013 at Mira Vista Nursing Facility in Mount Vernon, WA. He was born May 10, 1946 in New York to Stig and Doris (Ragger) Ekblad. Eric joined the US Navy in 1966 and was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor as a Petty Officer AZ2 through 1969.
He worked for Puget Power as a meter reader in Skagit County for three years; a journeyman carpenter for thirteen years and studied at SVC Whidbey Island Branch in Graphic Arts.
Eric was first married to Joyce Ebel of Anacortes, WA from 1969 to 1979 and they lived in La Conner, WA. His second marriage was to Betty (Gilbert) Ekblad of Vancouver, BC on April 30, 1982 and they lived in Anacortes, WA until moving to Sedro-Woolley, WA.
Growing up on Long Island, New York during the 50’s and 60’s, Eric absorbed the jazz and blues influence and knew the lyrics of many rock and roll songs. During his youth he spent a lot of time at airports with his father who worked for SAS and they travelled to Europe occasionally. A childhood fascination with a pencil and paper which never left his side, and during the 80s, Eric illustrated local wildlife subjects; acrylics, inks and pencils were the medium.
Over the years Eric enjoyed target shooting, steelhead fishing, bird hunting, making great pots of homemade Italian spaghetti and spending time with his black labs, Otis and Jake. His recent passions included collecting slag lamps and antique postcards and pictures of his mystical location, Chuckanut Drive and Deception Pass.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Betty Ekblad of Sedro-Woolley; brother and sister-in law, Bill and Kathy Burton; niece, Heather Burton; nephew, Jeffrey Burton all of Surry, B.C.; aunt, Helen Ekblad and cousin, Linda Ekblad both of Florida; long-time friends, David Jensen of La Conner, Ben Benjamin of Oak Harbor, Tom Wait of Bow, and Gary Hopwood of Rochester, NY.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Stig and Doris Edblad; uncle, Alex Ekblad; and mother-in-law, Emily Gilbert.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the charity of your choice.
A memorial service will be held at 1:00 pm on Saturday, June 29, 2013 at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2015 E. Blackburn Road, Mount Vernon, with Pastor Suzanne Paulus officiating. Cremation arrangements are under the direction of Lemley Chapel.
Eric and I worked for the Long Island Lighting Co for about a year, before he joined the Navy and I returned to college. We both drove Triumph sports cars at that time spending many weekends on the road and hooting with the owls. We had a great time… he was a good and interesting friend. I remember visiting Stig and Doris at their home in Huntington & always being welcomed. Unfortunately, we lost track over the years. I drove from NY with my wife and dog cross country to visit him in ’73. We had a nice time with Eric taking the lead showing us the sites and BBQing salmon steaks. He clearly loved being in Washington. I’m sad that he’s gone but glad he was where he wanted to be with his wife, Betty. Sorry for this belated message, but I just learned of his passing.
Eric, my old friend………..I just heard the sad news from my sister, Kerry. We grew up across the street from the age of 6 on Tappan Dr. in South Huntington, LI. After high school, our paths crossed occasionally, but I kind of kept up with your life through your parents. Somehow about 10+ years ago, we reconnected by email and phone. It was a lot of fun reminiscing. My sincere sympathy goes out to your family and friends. RIP dear friend!
Eric and I met,and, began what turned out to be a life long friendship, at our high school on Long Island, N.Y. We had the same likes and dislikes, and spent so much time together, that people thought we were brothers ! Growing up in the 60’s was a wild ride and it was great to have a buddy to watch your back. Black muscle clinging t-shirts,tight jeans and duck tail style hair was the uniform of the decade ! Chasing girls, lifting weights and dancing with our “prizes” were our priorities in life, as long as we got passing grades in school !
After graduation, I went away to college and Eric went into the Navy. We picked up our friendship, after we got out of both ! Although we lived 1500 mi. to 3000 mi. apart, we always got together for a couple of weeks each and every year, except for the last few.
Betty is the best looking Canadian I know, congrats to Eric on his choice of life partners. I’ll miss visiting both of you. Eric, old buddy, I’ll see you on the other side !
Betty, don’t be a stranger, I’m there for you !
I am so sorry for your loss. I, too, knew Eric from LaConner. We spent much time, being ‘young and invincible’ together. He was always kind and gentle. And funny! He was always happy to see me, or so I believed. That was him with everyone…a genuine nice guy.
I was sorry to hear he passed at Mira Vista. I so hope for everyone involved, he didn’t suffer. RIP, my friend! His memory lives on with all of us. Thanks, Eric, for some funny memories!
We were his sister-in-law and brother-in-law; as we live in B.C we did not see Eric frequently. Whenever we visited Eric and Betty, we were fascinated by his many hobbies and artistic skill. Of particularly interest was his talent of capturing the essence of birds using only pencil or pen.. We have many of his pieces hanging in our home. Our memories of Eric are our visits when he enjoyed sharing his new finds in antique stores: lamps, old pictures of Chuckanut Drive and Deception Pass, and unique pieces of furniture. We take great comfort knowing Eric is now at peace.
I want to express my deepest sympathies to you Betty, I am so very sorry for your loss. I am truly surprised and saddened by Eric’s passing, he was a good man – a true romantic with a kind heart and a beautiful smile. It has been some years since I have seen Eric, so in my minds eye he will always be that good looking, fun loving, young man who came to the NW via Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, fell in love with the area and decided to make it his home. He was such a talented artist, not only with pencil, pen and ink but in perfecting the perfect brine for smoking some of the best fish I have every eaten, even to this day. I have so many wonderful memories of Eric that will always be in my heart. God’s speed Eric, say hello to Elsa on the other side.
We knew Eric while living in LaConner; at SneeOosh beach. At that time, he was very handy with the “hammer” and with that, he and Michael built our son a very fine little tree house that saw many happy children over the years. We know he was multi-talented however we lost touch…..we are sorry to hear that he was at Mira-Vista indicating to us, that there might have been a health issue. We have fond memories of Eric and of those that he associated with during the time we knew him. We will hold those memories in our hearts and ask that he rest in peace……….