Eric Ryan Salinas was born on November 17, 1988 in Elk City Oklahoma. He is the only child of Gina and Rob Salinas. When he was young, Eric’s dad was in the military and moving around was part of his upbringing. With few immediate family members close by, Eric learned to make friends by connecting with people over common interests while having a general concern for their well-being. That strong connection with people was evident when Eric died on June 4th in Webster, TX as he was surrounded by nearly two dozen of his closest friends who packed the hospital room to say goodbye to their friend.

Eric was a fanatic of all things involving “Geek Culture.” He played video games, watched fantasy movies, loved fantasy football and was often at the head of the table playing Dungeons and Dragons with friends. He was a sports fanatic with a closet full of team clothing. His favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys as he had no real chance to choose anything different due to the way he was brought up. Eric has more Houston Astros shirts than he could possibly ever wear in one year as he and his mother bonded over the team.

The love of Eric’s life was his daughter, Arya Brienne Salinas. He said he fought for a month for the right to name her after two strong female characters from The Game of Thrones. The two of them set out on numerous adventures as Eric wanted to expose her to things he loved while letting her choose her own path. Arya’s love for music can be traced to the time she spent with her father.

Eric is a registered member of the Cheyenne tribe. His viewpoint involves a spiritual outlook on life that was partially infused with his love for fantasy literature. A part of that was how he wanted to be remembered after his death. Eric refused to be buried saying “that’s not what you do with heroes.” He wanted his friends and family to talk about him around a campfire so his ancestors would know how he lived his life.

A celebration of life for Eric will take place Sunday at Timeout Sports Bar in Friendswood. As per his wishes, he will be cremated with his parents taking ownership of his remains until his daughter comes of age.