Eric Clayton Pedersen

1994 - 2015

Eric Clayton Pedersen
Novmber 27, 1994 ~ March 20, 2015
Resident of Clayton, CA
Eric, 20, was killed while long-boarding with friends, on his favorite run, Glendora Mountain Road near L.A. He hit a rock, slid too wide on a curve, and was hit by a truck. He had just finished finals, was packed up ready to come home, and was celebrating in early morning with one last run in SoCal. Eric was in his 3rd year in Mechanical Engineering at UC Irvine and was an undergraduate assistant at UCI's National Fuel Cell Research center.
Eric delighted in life, didn't waste a minute of it, and was unapologetically himself. You could spot him a mile away with his giant smile, tall gangly walk, Hawaiian shirt, and arms spread wide to envelope you in a hug. Sunshine every time he walked into the room. He was intelligent, selfless, talented, loving, and so full of life. You wouldn't know that within that friendly, slightly disheveled exterior was a brilliant mind…a mind that was packed full of all sorts of facts, interesting ideas, and the ability to conceptualize solutions without need for paper and pen.
Eric was passionate about life, the people he loved, the things he did…and long boarding. He actively loved his family, friends, and sweetheart. He was quick to tell you he loved you; made longboards for all his friends; baked sky-high multicolored cakes and all sorts of cookies; juggled; played ukulele and sang in a beautiful bass voice; acted in theater; sang in show choir; mentored and tutored math and calculus; held habanero eating contests; hung a giant Senior flag from the top of CVHS radio tower; held Mario Cart competitions; ran cross-country; danced with his grandmother; constantly argued about insane things with his brother; helped his mother build a house; always peed off the deck to save water; wrote beautiful thank-you notes; made gifts for Sarah; left the wood shop in a mess, the back door wide-open, and the sink piled high with dirty dishes; tried to sneak upstairs unnoticed whenever he was covered in road-rash from a fall; made the neighbor kids put their helmets on; collected rubber ducks; always ate his food cold because he'd talked all the way through dinner; passed notes in school in ASCII binary code; balanced anything at hand on his chin, nose, forehead…laughed and smiled and danced and sang and made his home the brightest spot in the universe.
And oh, the long boarding…He was in heaven skating down GMR, sliding on his homemade rails in a garage, or dropping into a bowl in a skate park. His enthusiasm was infectious and unfaltering and he delighted in sharing it with friends and his reluctant family.
Some quotes from his friends:
"I remember there was one time when we were skating to a final exam at 7:45 in the morning and while I was still waking up and complaining about the cold, he was smiling and doing this funny dance on his board. I remember he was wearing one of those incredibly fashionable and really brightly colored Hawaiian shirts and kept up that funny dance until we were halfway across the ARC field. I didn't understand it. It was cold, we were tired, we were about to take a final, we had another final later that day, and he had a long undergraduate research meeting he had to go to. Somehow though, he was absolutely stoked to be skating full speed towards this awful day. He had an excitement that was paramount to a small child waking up on Christmas morning and it was one of the greatest things to witness. He couldn't be bothered with the troubles of the day. He was focused on how much fun it was to skate to school and how good the end of the day would feel when finals would be over. I remember how I and my roommate Kristian caught him just in time as he was about to drive off at the end of the day. I remember how we all rejoiced at how easy the finals had been and joked about how his habit of not studying that much was actually the correct course of action this finals season. I remember us yelling to each other about how apartment would flood over break (floods were a common occurrence at our apartment) as he walked away to the parking lot. I remember him smiling and waving goodbye to me and Kristian for the last time. "
"Mike doesn't know this, but Eric was really worried about him during their senior year. Mike's mom was really ill and dad struggled with unemployment. Eric used his longboard money to anonymously scholarship his best friend. I was completely floored by such humble generosity."
"I will always remember, year after year, catching Eric and Aaron sneaking around after curfew. They'd give me those adorable smiles, and I'd have to try to look mad. Who could resist their silly and contagious charm?"
"I will never again meet someone as sincere, genuine, selfless, and so passionate. He brought joy into everyone's life…I looked up to him to be a better skater, student, boyfriend, and baker. Eric and I lived, laughed, and skated on a brotherly level and now there is this huge void in all our lives. The countless memories of Eric living his life to the fullest will bring comfort, joy, and strength to me."
"He was everything one could hope for in a friend. I knew I could always count on him to be there for me whatever the situation. He challenged and encouraged me to do new things or improve in those I already did. He was without a doubt my best friend and I knew I wanted to stay friends with him always."
"Eric was one of the best friends that I will ever have. He was an intelligent, kind, and passionate person, and I could not have asked for anything more in a friend. I will always remember him in his yellow helmet always encouraging me in whatever I endeavored to do, whether that be my first board slide or making my decision in applying to grad school…truly what he meant to me and everyone whoever knew him is ineffable. I will always miss him, and to a lot of us, he'll always be at the top of the hill, urging us to hurry and to always improve ourselves, and "go faster".
"That was the last time I skated to school with Eric and that's how I remember him: A smart and cheeky guy who had fun with every moment of his life, charging at full speed into tomorrow on his longboard while wearing the brightest shirt and biggest smile. It won't be easy moving forward from here, all of us are going to be skating along in life without Eric there alongside us. There will be something missing from us, that cannot be denied, and it will leave us feeling empty… For a man that was always so happy and excited it would be a damn shame and an insult to his memory for that last statement to be the truth. Yes, we all have a hole in our lives and feel this loss, but let us prevent this from being true for long. I never saw Eric sad once in the 2 and a half years I knew him and there was no secret to it, he made it plain for all to see that there was never a reason to be sad but rather always a reason to be happy. Let us not dwell on mourning but instead remember him and follow the example he led. Let's strive to get stoked, be happy and smile. Let's keep Eric alive by getting off the ground, getting back on our boards and pushing forward at full speed. I'd imagine he'd say something like this: "Come on let's go guys! Round 2! Get up let's go for another one c'mon! Go Faster! Skate Harder! Do Better!"
Eric is survived by his parents Paula and Dave, the love of his life Sarah Anne Moore, his brother Stephen and girlfriend Sam, grandparents Bob and LaVerne, aunts, uncles, cousins, his skating brothers, and many, many friends in Clayton and Irvine.
A celebration of Eric's life will be held in the Clayton Community Park starting a 2:00 PM, Saturday, March 28th. We will be barbequing hot dogs. Feel free to bring additional food or drinks, a written remembrance you may have of Eric, and wear purple if you have it.