Eric Charles Enger
Eric Charles Enger, age 62, of Billings MT passed away unexpectedly in his sleep Sept. 11, 2021. The days before leaving us he was doing what he loved the most being with his beloved family and seeing friends.
Eric was born Dec. 22, 1958, in Seattle WA to Dale Enger and Charlene Kiem Enger.
He married Rosemarie Hudak on Sept. 22, 1984. They were to celebrate their 37th Anniversary.
Eric is survived by his wife Rose, his father Dale Enger, his children, Chantel Enger and her husband Ronnie Lingblom, Justin Enger and his wife Morgan and granddaughter Quinnci Lingblom.
He lived in many different places and attended many elementary schools. Eric used to say he was a Boeing brat. He had lived in 43 different houses before calling Billings his permanent home. Many of his dearest friends were acquired while attending Will James Jr. High and West High School.
After high School, Eric joined the United States Navy from 1979 to 1985. He was last assigned to Attack Squadron FIFTY-TWO serving on the Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Kitty Hawk doing Search and Rescue. He was honorably discharge as Petty Officer AZ3rd Class. Eric was so proud of his service and humbly talked of his medals that were awarded. He still had his military ID in his wallet, his dog tags and yes, even his cracker Jacks. During a tour in Japan, he acquired his black belt in Shorin-Ryu under grand master Shugaro Nakazoto. Truly, Eric was a patriot, and he was extremely proud of his service to his country.
After being discharged, he attended Montana State University and even walked on as a Bobcat in football. He jokingly said he was just the practice squad, but he did get to suit up for a couple of games and play a few minutes before an injury put an end to that dream. Of course, he was a Bobcat fanatic. He was also a San Francisco 49er’s fan. “I was a fan when they were last in the league, win or lose, they are my team”.
Eric joined O’Donnell Fire Service where he did smoke jumping and firefighting. After being gone for 3 days and needing to go to the ER for injuries, Rose put a stop to his adrenaline seeking and he obtained his thrill through his long sales career. He excelled winning many awards and amazing trips. During this time, he decided to finish his business degree at St. Mary’s. Eric retired from MTS Freight this April and was so very excited to start his “fun” years.
More importantly, what will be missed deeply was his passions and loves. Eric loved his family and he loved deeply. He was a husband, a father, a teacher, a caretaker, a cheering fan, a coach in life and, of course, in sports. His meaning of existence was to take care of his family. We are going to miss you showing your love through BBQing, your kisses on the top of our heads, your big bear hugs, your love pats with you saying, “I love you”, your special nicknames for us. We will miss sitting in front of a fire and just enjoying you with your big, crooked smile, your laugh, and of course your humor.
Eric was also a true friend. If you were a friend of Eric’s, you hit the jackpot. He was always thinking of his friends and reaching out in his unique way to connect and to show his care, whether it was once a year touch, or getting a tee time, or passing on a job lead or just an encounter at the grocery store he would always check on you and your family.
Coach Eric says it all. He gave so much to all the kids that he coached throughout the years. A memory was when the towers were hit on 9-11. He gathered his “kids” around him and huddled up and said, “winning or losing or playing a game is not important, I want you to go home and hug your parents and family and tell them that you love them, that is all that matters”.
He looked forward to hunting, skiing, and fishing, packing snacks and of course some beer for the end of the day, successful or not. His joy in hunting was the “stalk” whether he tagged something or not. For fly fishing (he also had a nice spinner), he made sure both of his kids knew how to fish. Eric also decided he needed to learn to ski in his 30’s so that he would be there when his “babies” learned to ski. Oh, the stories to be told.
If you truly knew Eric, you knew his joy and, at times, obsession for music. He not only knew the song, the band, but who was the guitarist, drummer, bass player, year made, and on and on. He also knew so many sports, movie, history trivia facts. You could ask Eric the most obtuse question and almost every time he had the answer.
Eric wanted to play Doctor My Eyes by Jackson Brown at his funeral, so whenever you hear this song, tip a cup (best a Cabernet in a coffee cup), blow him a kiss, smile, and remember his crooked smile and big laugh.
Remember him.
Celebration of Life at Faith Chapel on Friday, Sept. 24 at 11am.
Published by Billings Gazette on Sep. 19, 2021.
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