Nelson Eric Rios, born May 16th, 1985, went to be with Jesus on April 6, 2024, at the age of 38. He passed away surrounded by his family and knew he was loved.
Our hearts are broken; Eric was light wherever he went. His smile was big, beautiful, and inviting. He was warm, considerate of others, and so much fun. Eric had a passion for cooking. He was so good at it. He would make up the most delicious dishes and sit and watch you enjoy every bite. He’d ask, “You like that?”. It was a huge way of how he showed he loved you. He loved to dance. At celebrations, he would grab anyone to dance with, and his energy was infectious. He was a stranger to no one. If you met him, you were instantly friends, and he wanted to hear about your life story. He wanted to know you and make you feel seen. He was a book of knowledge and interesting facts. He would say, “You know, I was reading about that,” kinda pointing his finger and going off on all the information he collected on the topic.
He was an incredible uncle to all of his nieces and nephews. It’s crazy; he had something special with each one. He painted nails, played games, brushed hair, built legos, threw footballs, went on adventure walks, and learned dance routines. They all loved their Uncle Eric, who had cool stories, jokes, and adventures. He was an incredible brother. He helped us build things, move things, helped at Birthday parties, cooked, decorated, and whatever was needed, he was always willing to help out. He was a loving son. He loved our mom so much and wanted to make her proud of everything he did. Making his mom proud brought him pride and joy.
He was baptized in 2018. He loved God and spoke a lot about volunteering and helping out at the church. To say as a family, we are devastated and are struggling to understand life without him in it is an understatement.
We want to thank everyone who called, text, sent messages, and prayed for our family. We love you and ask that you continue to pray for us as we process this devastating loss. Our only consolation is we know he is with Jesus healed, with no more pain and resting in his glory.