In Loving Memory of My Beloved Partner

It is with a broken heart that I share the devastating loss of my partner, Eric Rakutt. He died unexpectedly in his sleep during an out-of-state hunting trip. Eric was not only my partner, but my best friend. He brought love, laughter, kindness, and comfort to everyone around him. After our twenty years together, having to face life without him is unimaginable.

Eric was the sole provider for my family for most of the last decade. His incalculable generosity and sense of responsibility allowed me to be the primary caregiver for both of my parents, especially my mother Ann who has Alzheimer’s and is now living in a nearby nursing facility. My father, Charles’ last years were also difficult as he battled diabetes and congestive heart disease. Neither Charles nor my mother Ann were/are Eric’s parents, but he nonetheless graciously assumed much of the financial burden of their increasing medical demands. And then, most recently Eric endured his own personal health challenges, first cancer and then hip surgery for which I was his caregiver as well. But throughout these trying times, we supported and cared for each other without concern for the many financial and emotional burdens.

Along with the abject devastation of losing Eric, I am facing alone the mounting financial responsibilities of my family, without the income he provided. I had just retrained and started a successful new career in medical billing, but when I needed to be home to help care for Eric after his surgery, I left my recent employment.

The ensuing financial repercussions of Eric’s death are both immediate and more long-term. The immediate concerns are the costs of Eric’s burial (cremation) and other attendant issues relating to his death, and our household expenses that have been put on hold, including our mortgage. But more future concerns -- and unfortunately these cannot be adequately quantified because of the nature of my mother’s medical condition – are the many unanticipated (and inevitably mounting) costs of her future care. While her pension pays for some of it, at some point she will have to be moved to a more costly memory facility. Eric and I had discussed this inevitability and calculated that our combined incomes would have allowed us to confront these many challenges.

I am, therefore and sadly, reaching out to our friends, family, colleagues through this GoFundMe initiative to settle our finances, both immediate and unexpected, and to help put them on a firm footing for the future. If you are able to contribute, your support would make a tremendous difference and ease some of the financial burden during this incredibly difficult time. Every donation, regardless of the amount, will go toward these immediate needs and would mean more to me than I can express. If you are unable to donate, sharing this fundraiser with others will help, or offering a prayer, or simply keeping Eric and our family in your thoughts, would also mean so much.

Asking for financial help is not easy for me, but I am reaching out because I cannot manage these unexpected expenses alone. Any support you can offer will help pay for an honorable burial tribute to Eric and also sustain our projected plans for our family’s future needs.

Thank you for taking the time to read our/my story, for your kindness, generosity, and compassion, and for standing beside me during this heartbreaking time.

My dearest Eric, rest in peace. You will be forever in my heart.