Erik A Norelius

Erik A. Norelius July 3, 1959 – March 16, 2015 Erik Norelius eased out of this world peacefully and surrounded by the love of his family in Denver, Colorado after a 3 year war against cancer on March 16, 2015. He will long be remembered for his infectious and warm sense of humor. Erik was a fabulous storyteller and his humorous embellishments kept his friends and family in stitches. He embraced life and was loved by everyone he ever met. Thanks to his fun-loving ways, he was dubbed “Uncle Goober” by his nieces and nephews and “Pop-E” or “E-phis” by his grandchildren and wife, he thought that quite an honor! Erik grew up outside Denison, Iowa on the family farm, Norrback. He spent much of his early years with his cousins: Todd, Toby and Tony Mullenger—exploring the farm, playing games in the cornfields and always finding ways to get into trouble. Erik attended Denison schools and graduated in 1977. Rumor has it that during that time, he once agreed to eat an entire jar of French’s mustard for $5—he got his money and one huge belly ache! After graduation, he moved to Colorado to work and there he met his first wife, Lora Schlapia. They had 2 sons, Jarod (32) and Brendon (28). He later married Brenda Stenzel and they blended their families. Together they purchased a construction business and ran that for several years. They then relocated to the mountains of Colorado where they were caretakers of a large estate until Erik’s health forced a move back to to the Denver area. He loved his mountain life and enjoyed the various tasks needed to run all aspects of the property. These were very happy years for him. The Norelius family ties to their Swedish heritage were firmly embraced by Erik. He flew a Swedish flag at his home, enjoyed Christmas celebrations with aquavit and various Swedish dishes to share, and followed a lot of the abundant family history that his father had collected. Storm watching was a huge passion for Erik. He especially enjoyed his times at the family cabin at Spirit Lake where summer storms were numerous and often intense. There are many memories of him down on the dock, in gale winds with the waves breaking over the dock, and he’s there watching for lightning or tornadoes. He was really interested in tornadoes and he was known to literally chase them or at least watch them from the roof of his home in Colorado. He was the severe weather alert system for the entire family alerting us to go to our basements in Iowa when impending tornadoes were in the neighborhood, or prepare for high damaging winds on the Oregon coast or floods and hail in Colorado. Erik loved to scuba dive and traveled to Mexico, California and New Mexico to enjoy this pastime. One trip was made especially memorable while diving off Santa Barbara as they nearly had to abandon ship due to water in the engine room. Just the sort of excitement he loved because there would be a great story to tell. He also enjoyed hunting, especially on the family farm. Erik was preceded in death by his father, William Q. Norelius. He is survived by his mother, Diane F. Norelius, his wife, Brenda, his sisters, Kris (Dan) and Juliann, his sons Jarod (Yazyth) and Brendon (Carmella), 3 step children, Jake Stenzel (Emily), Andy Stenzel (Courtney), Jessica Brown (Corbett), a granddaughter and numerous step-grandchildren. Farväl, Erik. Djupt i våra hjärtan du bor. (Farewell Erik. Deep in our hearts you live.) In lieu of flowers, Erik requested that donations be sent to:                                                                                 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital                                                                                 262 Danny Thomas Place                                                                                 Memphis, TN 38105 Please see www.pfannebecker.com for condolences. A private family memorial will be held in Colorado from 2 pm to 3 pm on Tuesday, March 24 followed by a Celebration of Life reception for friends and family from 6 pm to 10 pm at the Clubhouse at Arbor Commons, 14852 Galapagos, Westminster, CO 80023.