Eric-John Richard Niss was born into this world Wednesday, Nov. 6, 1996, at Windom Area Hospital, to Jessica Niss. His father, Marcos de Jesus, lived in Connecticut at the time of his birth. Soon after Eric was born, Marcos moved to Minnesota to help raise Eric-John. Jessica and Marcos made it their pledge to raise Eric-John as a united front, with love for him as their guide. Eric-John was baptized into Christ on Sunday, Dec. 22, 1996, at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mountain Lake. His godparents Jaque, Jeremy, and Jada, stood witness along with Marcos and Jessica. Auntie Jaque, uncle Jeremy, and auntie Jada gave Eric-John their guidance, love, and support, all of his life. Soon after Eric was born, Jessica married her high-school sweetheart, Jesse, and they set off to Fort Carson, Colo., where Jesse was serving in the Army. Eric-John welcomed home three brothers over the next 13 years, and he took great joy in being their older brother. Along with being Ethan, Eli and Evan’s older brother, Eric-John revered these boys as his best friends. The boys played hard and were the anchors, and life preservers, in each other’s lives. They were each other’s biggest fans, and also each other’s biggest critics. The Boys will forever be their title. No names or situations need to be clarified, to know what that title stands for. The Boys stands on its own merit. Marcos moved back to Connecticut and married Patricia, and together they brought Fernando and Isabella into Eric’s life. Eric-John’s pride for these siblings was so great, and he adored having more people to love and protect. Eric-John would fly out to Connecticut and come back with wonderful stories; stories of time shared with his Connecticut family. He truly treasured the time he had with them. Marcos and Jessica both divorced their spouses and went on to remarry. Jessica married Bob Blom and, together, had Camille, and one son, Benjamin, whom was called home to heaven before his first breath. Eric shined in being a big brother to Camille, just as he had shined the day that Benjamin was born. Eric had tattooed ‘Long Live Benjamin’ on his heart for the world to see. Eric-John taught Camille how to play the ukulele and loved listening in on her violin lessons.

Eric-John continually gave Camille encouragement and praise in the day-to-day things in life. Bob’s children Alex and Kaila, from his previous marriage, gave Eric even more siblings to pull into his protective care. Eric-John loved Alex and Kaila and checked in about them by asking me about them continually. Marcos married Jennifer and gave Eric-John a new sister, Clara. Eric loved bragging how smart Clara was and how much he loved to spoil her with attention. He adored that baby girl. Jesse had raised and loved Eric-John from the day he was born, and his love and encouragement for Eric-John never stopped. When Jesse and Carolyn met and eventually married, Carolyn took Eric-John into her heart like he was her very own, just as she had with all of the boys. Eric always was, and always will be, the 1st child to make us adults into parents. We learned so much from him, and he was our pride and joy. Some might think Eric-John had a messy family life; the mess never stopped the love, though. Eric-John taught us that what we have is a life that has no need for dividing lines. Eric-John was the bridge and our solvent in being one big family. Eric-John enjoyed taking care of others and this planet.

His love for the planet was evident in his choices from early on. He would pick up trash from the ground at a very young age, and say mama, this will hurt mother-earth. Eric-John lived in many states and traveled to different parts of the world, all under the age of 10. He was fascinated with meeting new people, and letting others know that they were important. Eric didn’t fit into any mold; he just loved people. Period. Eric never seemed hurried, or made you feel rushed, when he was talking and spending time with you. Eric-John was fully present and was intently careful of giving you his full and undivided attention. He made you feel like you were the only person that mattered, and that he had all the time in the world to devote to you. Eric-John was confirmed in his faith Sunday, May 10, 2009. His statement of faith spoke about loving others, like Christ loves us.

Eric-John walked that walk, in all of his days. Eric-John was inducted into the National Honor Society on Nov. 14, 2014. His dear teacher, Mrs. Syverson, spoke of Eric-John s dedication to excellence in how he studied, and the respect that he showed to his elders and to his peers. This honor was the first of many distinguished moments that Eric was recognized as being someone that held others in high regard. Eric-John decided to add ‘de Jesus’ to his name before he graduated from high school. His wish was to bring honor to his dad and the de Jesus family, by taking their name. Eric-John wanted their name on every important accomplishment of his life. He was setting off on his own, in the world soon, and he was hoping to do great things. He wanted his dad to be connected to those moments, in name and in pride. During his years at Mountain Lake High School, Eric-John enjoyed playing xylophone, and loved the challenges that the FFA (Future Farmers Association) gave him. Eric-John was part of a team of four classmates that made it to The National FFA Convention two years in a row. They SHINED at the convention and brought honor to Mountain Lake High School. Eric-John lettered in varsity football. Eric-John was a self-proclaimed non-star athlete, but he gave his team all he had. He loved being part of that brotherhood. Eric-John joined his brothers, Ethan and Eli, in the one-act play titled “Blues.” He was in the background, dealing with sound. He reveled in being a part of something that highlighted his brother’s on-stage talents. Eric-John was chosen to take part in a music listening contest. He would study classical music and then he, and a few other chosen students along with Mr. Jahnke, took their knowledge of classical music and competed against other schools.

Only a few can truly comprehend the brain power that must have taken. Eric-John was greatly challenged, and challenges were his fuel for life. Eric-John expressed his goal, when he was a freshman, to work hard so that he would be accepted into the University of Minnesota. A dear family friend, Rod Hamilton, took Eric-John on a tour of the campus. Eric-John applied to many schools, to see just how high he could go. Eric-John’s pride soured when Yale sent him an acceptance letter, along with a sizable scholarship. The University of Minnesota, also, sent Eric-John an acceptance letter along with a scholarship. Eric-John graduated, with high honors, from Mountain Lake High School on May 15, 2015. Eric went on to study at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. He had earned acceptance into the Honors program. Along with his college courses, he used his passions and time to serve at the Animal Humane Society in St. Paul, and the Minnesota Zoo. He also worked as a security detail for the U of M campus. His job as a security detail was one that had him accompanying anyone to their dorm building, to help them feel safe and secure. His love for conservation and all things that lived, people, plants and animals alike, was evident in the lack of sleep he would endure between his college studies and the shifts he worked. He would call and sound so tired. He explained his tiredness was caused by the 1-2 hours of sleep he had gotten, but he was pushed to make it known how important these places were to him. He showed dedication to his studies and his jobs by always showing up no matter the physical or mental strain. Eric-John was given the opportunity to study abroad while he attended the U. He traveled to Japan for 3 weeks and studied art. He expressed how lovely Japan’s culture and surroundings were, and he hoped to go back one day.

Eric-John graduated magna cum laude from the University of Minnesota in December 2018. Some might remember that Eric-John walked in the 2018 spring commencement on May 11, 2018. The program that was handed out to everyone in attendance of that commencement stated Eric-John R. Niss de Jesus: graduating with distinction, B.S in Animal Science. This was printed before he had even completed his thesis or his internship; it was printed 7 months before he actually fulfilled all of his graduation requirements. The graduation board knew Eric-John well enough to trust, without any doubt, that he was going to finish the job. His work ethic, and dedication to excellence, earned him the trust of his professors and U of M administration. As Eric-John’s grandpa Jerry would say, “the proof is in the pudding.” Eric-John dedicated himself to the U.S. Marine Corp and set off for boot camp on Feb. 24, 2019. He had only given himself a few moments between completing college, to putting his feet on the yellow footprints at Marine Corp Recruit Depot in San Diego, for the most intense physical and mental test of his life. In his own words, he wanted to test his metal. One of Eric- John’s greatest emotional hurdles, before leaving, was saying goodbye to Macy, our Golden Lab. Eric-John took great care of Macy and entrusted her to us when he left for college. In college, he was close enough to visit any time he wanted, and the thought of not having that freedom was wearing heavily on him, as he was approaching boot camp. In his own words, “I just don’t want anything to happen to her while I’m gone. I want her to live a long happy life.” Eric-John’s greatest joys was FaceTiming and watching Macy fetch her ball and play. He would comment on how white her coat was getting. He was nervous that she wouldn’t make it until he got home to have a game of fetch with him. Macy loved hearing his voice over the phone; she would cock her head to one side trying to understand why she could hear him, but not see him. Macy loved our boy and our boy loved her. Throughout Eric-John’s time in the Marine Corp, he had moments of sheer brilliance. Eric-John was named the Distinguished Honor Graduate from MP school, along with receiving a Certificate of Commendation from Colonel Rizzo. The most recent accolade was when Eric-John received a NAM award,recognizing his efforts to save another Marine’s life. Here is what Eric-John wrote on his Facebook page after receiving his NAM award, “Was honored enough to receive a Nam today. I’m blessed enough to have a career that I find honorable and meaningful. I am able to render aid and assist and serve those around me, which is what I wanted out of the Corps. Not everyone is lucky enough to have a job where the fruits of their labor can be reaped so visibly.

This award is bittersweet, but the event has formed me into the MP and Marine I am today. A lesson I plan to take with me as I continue my time in the Gun Club. Yut.” Eric-John shared a letter that he had received from Brigadier General W. J. Bowers, which read: Corporal Niss de Jesus, congratulations on your well-deserved selection into the Marine Corps Enlisted Commissioning Program. Selection for the Marine Corp Enlisted Commissioning Program is rigorous and exceptionally competitive; you can be justifiably proud in the knowledge that only the best are selected. You are a proven leader of Marines, and the quality of your dedication to our core values is matched only by your work ethic, both of which directly led to the major career milestone. Congratulations once again and we send my very best wishes for your continued career success. Semper Fi~ W.J. Bowe Brigadier General. U. S. Marine Corps Commanding General Marine Corps Installations Pacific. The shining moments that stand out the most, though, were in the last moments of Eric-John’s life.

Saturday, June 5, 2021, Odo Beach, Okinawa Japan. Eric-John and a few of his Marine buddies had the weekend off, so they set out to spend as much time on the beach and in the water, as possible. They had visited Mermaids Grotto the day before and looked forward to letting loose in the water again on Saturday. In the words of his buddies, Eric-John was swimming around, pointing out different kinds of coral and fish. He kept popping up out of the water saying, Did you see that? They described his mood as giddy.

Eric-John was truly soaking in all that the waters had to offer. His fascination and knowledge of everything made it all the more exciting for everyone else. His fever for life was a true force of why he was so easy to love. Eric-John’s fellow Marine buddies shared the moments right before he was lost to the fierce force of the great waters. They expressed what a strong leader he was, and that his concern for their safety was evident in his encouraging words and his expressed determination that they needed to keep fighting. As Eric-John was fighting for his own life, he kept checking in with them and encouraging them to fight hard to survive. In his last moments, it was evident their safety was of his utmost concern. Eric-John left this world taking his charge as the big brother, quite seriously, looking after everyone around him. Eric-John was called to his heavenly home too soon, in respect to the 24 years he was here on Earth. But, to God, Eric-John’s work here was done. Eric-John rose to the call, and left us with a legacy of kindness, generosity, and unconditional love towards all people and all things of this planet. Eric-John entered into peace, living a life well-lived. It is sure fact, that for those of us here on earth, we will feel the void of Eric-Johns presence; heavy and sure. So, until we meet again, Eric-John’s legacy will live on in our hearts, and the bar he set so very high will be our new bar to reach, in everything we do. Eric-John is preceded in death by his baby brother, Benjamin Robert; and many beloved great-grandparents. Eric-John is survived by: great-grandparents, Marie Milne (d. Richard Milne), Don and Carolyn Reitz; grandparents, Manuel and Blanca de Jesus, Jerome and Kim (Reitz) Niss, Glen and Barbara (Milne/Niss/Kabe) Miller, Russ and Nance (Meade) Kunkel, Dean and Jennifer (Olson/Ennenga) Karschnik, Char (Hoffert) Karschnik, Lyle and Andrea (Norell) Blom, and Bob and Audrey Wornson; parents, Bob and Jessica (Niss/Karschnik) Blom, Marcos and Jennifer (Pfitscher) de Jesus, and Jesse (Kunkel) and Carolyn (Wornson) Karschnik; siblings, Ethan (fiancée Anna Miels), Fernando, Eli, Isabella, Alex, Kaila, Evan, Camille, and Clara; aunts and uncles, Jon and Heather (Kunkel/Karschnik) Gerdes, Pete and Sandy (de Jesus) Dolan, Jeremy and Jennifer (Holmstadt) Niss, Tony and Anne (Kunkel) Christianson, Korey and JaqueLynne (Niss) Radtke, Clint and Jenna (Kabe) Marcy, Erika de Jesus (partner Herman Detwiler), Kindra (Miller) Moudry, Kari Karschnik, Dustin (Miller) Lynch, Tim Wornson, Brad and Kari (Wornson) Peterson, Dan and Jasmin (Ennenga) Seppanen, Gary and Amanda (Paulson) Blom, Tom Wornson, Eric and Abby (Ennenga) Ahmann, Randy and Shawna (Wornson) Vancura, Georgi Wornson (partner Thad Diedrich); special friend, Renee Garza. Eric-John has many, many cousins that looked up to him as a friend and a role-model. He has several great-aunts and great-uncles, in the US, Bolivia, and Portugal, who cheered Eric-John on and loved seeing where he was challenging himself and how he was enjoying life. All of his Marine family, which is too vast to count in numbers, will continue to keep Eric-John’s memory alive, through their dedication to service and work ethic. The Marines are an elite family that will always consider Eric-John as a fellow Marine, forever and a day. In a nut shell, Eric-John will be dearly missed by all those who love him. To know him, was to love him. In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the Animal Humane Society in Golden Valley or to https://thefallenoutdoors.com/minnesota/.

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