Loved ones say goodbye to student
By Don Weberg
Daily Forty-Niner
An entourage of lifeguard trucks and a
fire engine lined the already packed parking lot at the Christ Presbyterian
Church in Huntington Beach on Thursday, as about 150 gathered to pay their
final respects to Erik Lind.
Other cars in the lot displayed interests
shared by Lind, an 18-year-old Cal State Long Beach student, such as surfboards
and bumper stickers with the message "H2O Polo."
"There was something so pure in the way
Erik said, --I love you," said friend Mike Morin.
Lind died with friend Tyson Stearns on
Oct. 16 when the Cessna 152 piloted by Lind crashed in Ventura County after
its takeoff.
Friends and family sat in chairs and stood
along the walls inside the simple chapel to say goodbye and honor the memory
of the young man they knew.
Somber expressions and watery eyes, some
hidden behind dark glasses, graced the crowd while a light chatter filled
the room. At the flower-laced altar, firefighters and lifeguards
sat behind the wooden casket upon which was a framed photo of Lind.
From becoming a pilot at 17 years old to
joining the Huntington Beach Lifeguard, he strived for his goals, said
Gary Watkins, the minister who led the service.
"Erik accomplished more in his 18 years
of life than most ever will," Watkins said.
Mark White, a neighbor of the Lind family,
recalled Lind fondly.
"I remember one Christmas when he talked
me into riding his snake skateboard," White said.
The eulogies expressed everyone's love
for Lind and their good fortune in knowing him.
The weather Thursday was not stereotypical
for a funeral. In passing someone commented the day was fitting ó
bright and sunny, just like Erik. |
![[news]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/news.gif){kind=icon}
![[opinion]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/opinion.gif){kind=icon}
![[Sports]](http://www.csulb.edu/~d49er/Icon/sports.gif){kind=icon}