Eric Spiller's Outdoor Classroom

When Holly and I moved into the neighborhood 20 years ago into Jim and Jane Spiller’s house, we loved the fact that we had a home that had been well worn by three active boys.  Even more, we loved the fact that the Spiller family was staying in the neighborhood building a new house right next to ours.  The boys grew up, we had three kids of our own, Jim and Jane were looking to downsize, we were looking for more space, so we swapped houses (true!) and the great gift of that first move kept on giving- we got to remain next door neighbors!  Their youngest son, Eric, was a constant presence in our lives for those two decades.  He was our children’s favorite playmate, hands down.  He seemed to have boundless energy that kept them outside for hours on end and endless patience, fielding all of their questions and never seeming to tire of their demands for his time.  I loved seeing our girls come home covered in dirt having spent the afternoon with Eric digging up worms or looking for snakes.  Or our son running from our yard to the Spiller’s playing tag with Eric on what became one boundary-less playing field.  Friends would come over for play dates and ask if they could go over and get Eric to play.  And Eric was a constantly friendly and familiar presence for all of the children in the neighborhood.  His love of animals and nature is one of the many gifts he gave to our kids. Eric’s sudden and tragic death on October 11th at the age of 28 hit our home with painful force.  Trying to make sense of it has been impossible for me.  Trying to explain it to our kids has been even harder.  We want to remember Eric for all of his wonderful qualities and find a way to celebrate his life in a manner that others can share in.  So we sat as a family and thought about ways we might be able to do that.  Animals and nature kept rising to the surface of the conversation.  We have partnered with thre Stamford Museum & Nature Center to bring this idea to life in the form of a pollinator garden honoring Eric.