A grieving widow penned an upbeat obituary to honor her late husband’s unique and positive outlook on life.
Crystal Sauser wrote the humorous but loving eulogy, which was published in her local Nebraska newspaper and went viral on social media, following the death of her 43-year-old husband, Eric Sauser, from cancer, reported “Good Morning America.”
The pair were married for 17 years and shared three children, ages 11, 9, and 5. On February 26, Eric lost his nearly two-year-battle with leukemia.
"I'm sad because I have a broken heart, but I'm not sad because we didn't win our journey," Crystal told the outlet. "Eric never wanted pity ... we kind of maintained that in writing the obituary."
After looking through templates of other obituaries, she decided to write her own as none seemed in line with Eric’s personality.
"Eric A. Sauser, AKA Super Dad, AKA Easy, just a rockin' dude ... passed away peacefully in his sleep on Friday, February 26, 2021, at the age of 43 with his wife by his side," she wrote in the obit. "His departure was just in time for him to make his spiritual appearance at every Red Sox spring game. Eric is survived by his wife, Crystal, and three children, Amelia, Violet and Benjamin, all of whom will likely sleep in the same bed for many years to come (sorry, Eric)."
“He is preceded in death by billions, including his dog Harvey who most of us loved to hate,” the obituary continued. “We are confident they are joyfully reconnecting right now. If you knew Eric, you knew you were loved, and there is a good chance he told you that – probably sober, but maybe not.”
“We are not positive, but we think the cause of death was either leukemia or more likely being "dead sexy,’” Crystal joked, before ending it on a touching note. “Eric, we've always loved you and miss you already.”
As far as what her late husband would think of the obituary, Crystal believes he’d be a bit embarrassed for getting so much attention.
"I think his face is so red," she told GMA. "He's completely embarrassed by me saying things like, 'He's dead sexy,' but he would be so happy that he wasn't cookie cutter."
Crystal added: "He would be happy that this story is generating inspiration and love. If there's anything Eric and I can do, it's send some love out there."
Eric’s 11-year-old daughter read the obituary at a celebration of life ceremony on March 4th, which also included a dance party in his honor.
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