Dr. Erik Close 07/31/2020
Dr. Erik Austin Close left this world to sail the winds in the sky on July 31, 2020 at 45 years old. If you are quiet, you might be able to hear his boisterous laugh from above. A Celebration of Life will be held at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, August 18, 2020 at Grace Church, 3111 S. 6th St., Marshalltown. For those unable to attend the services, they will be livestreamed on Anderson Funeral Homes Facebook page. Another celebration of Erik's life will be held in Denver for his Colorado family and friends in the next year. The Anderson Funeral Homes of Marshalltown has been entrusted with the arrangements. Online condolences may be sent to www.andersonfhs.com He is survived by his wife Kelli; his children Austin, Claire and Cooper; his sister Kiersten Wangsvick of Tucson, Arizona; his mother Carla Kuhlman of Littleton, Colorado; and his father Steven Close of Golden, Colorado. Erik was born in Denver, Colorado on January 20, 1975. By birthright, this made him an avid Denver Broncos fan for life. Possibly his greatest legacy is how he proudly instilled this love of the Broncos in both of his football loving sons. Erik gre...[more]View Full Online Obituary and Tributes
p in Arvada, Colorado and Golden, Colorado in the Denver metropolitan area, with a brief few years as a child in San Jose, California. He graduated from Wheatridge High School, in Wheatridge, Colorado in 1993. He attended the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1997. He always said he loved learning engineering. It fascinated him. But after college, when he entered the working world as an engineer, there was something missing. His heart was not fulfilled by the profession. In 2003, his heart was fulfilled in another way. On August 31, he married Kelli Hammes near her hometown of Eldridge, Iowa. They resided in Littleton and then later in Highlands Ranch, Colorado and had three children: Austin (16), Claire (13) and Cooper (9). Erik loved helping people and solving problems, and he usually couldn't sleep until he had a plan. This aided him well with his problem of professional unfulfillment as an engineer. He decided to attend medical school. He spent the next few years taking pre-requisite classes and volunteering at Littleton Hospital in the ER to gain the education and experience it would take to be accepted into medical school. He began medical school in the fall of 2009 at Rocky Vista University in Parker, Colorado. During his time as a medical student, his most meaningful memories were gained while volunteering with a medical mission group, traveling to Antigua, Guatemala three times. He graduated from medical school in 2013. Later that year, he began his orthopedic surgery residency at Western Reserve Hospital in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, where he and his family spent the next five years. He graduated from residency in June of 2018 and moved his family to Marshalltown, Iowa to begin his career at as an orthopedic surgeon at the McFarland Clinic. He was an extraordinary addition to the McFarland Clinic and the community of Marshalltown. His compassion and remarkable medical intelligence as a surgeon allowed him to help so many patients in the community in the last two years. Erik was happiest when he was watching his kids play sports. Erik absolutely loved watching Claire play soccer and working with her to develop her amazing skills as a keeper. He had a great knowledge of the sport of soccer and had enjoyed it ever since he was a kid. Austin started football at the age 6 and Erik helped Austin develop his football skills throughout his childhood. Austin started wrestling and rugby in 7th grade, and these were new sports to Erik. He immersed himself in learning the rules so he could watch and support his son in these activities. When Austin started high school in Marshalltown, Erik became the Team Doctor for the high school football team. He was on the sidelines during all the home games with the team, where he was able to watch Austin play from close range and talk with him and the coaches during the game. As the Team Doctor, he was also able to satisfy his desire to help people, getting to know all the high school football players and applying his medical expertise and compassion when players would get injured during play. His youngest, Cooper, is an avid "NFL game watcher" and Erik looked forward to football Sundays when they would sit in the living room and watch football, talking about all the teams and players. He loved teaching Cooper which teams were in which divisions and discussing the players that both of them followed so closely. When he was not watching his kids compete in sports, Erik loved sailing and golfing. He grew up racing sailboats on Lake Dillon in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with his dad and sister. When he lived in Colorado, he owned two sailboats: a Santana 22 and a catamaran. He also loved taking his kids sailing and he looked forward to frequent trips back to Colorado to sail Lake Dillon with them as they grew older. A newer hobby, Erik started golfing in 2018. He considered himself the "best worst" golfer at Elmwood Country Club. He was such an enjoyable person to be around, and he was honored and humbled by all the golfers at Elmwood that invited him to be in their group, despite his golf skills. He was driven to get better at it. He consistently logged his score and golfed as often as he could, whenever he could. He tried to fit in time to golf daily and enjoyed early morning rounds before work. Erik was competitive, driven, enthusiastic, caring and loving. But while he was a caregiver to others, he held a lot of his thoughts inside and didn't open up to many people. His family asks that if you or anyone you know is struggling with depression or anxiety and have thoughts of suicide, please get help. Kelli, Austin, Claire, and Cooper want you to know that you are not alone and there is help available through the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (www.afsp.org), the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) and the Crisis Text Line (741741). It doesn't matter how smart, capable, or loved you are. Depression can overcome you. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Erik through a donation to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or to an education fund that has been set up for his children. • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: https://afsp.donordrive.com/campaign/Erik-Close-Memorial-Fund • Close Family Education Fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/close-family-education-fund
