Eric Thomas Yandell

Eric Thomas Yandell, age 50, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on Sunday, May 28. Eric was born on June 13, 1966 in Columbus, Ohio to Keith and Sharon (Murphy) Yandell. He moved with his family to Madison two months later and attended Madison public schools, graduating from West High in 1984. It was during this time that he gained his nickname, "Wiley." Eric spent much of his adult life in his adopted city of Minneapolis, moving back and forth to Madison several times, most recently returning in January 2016 to help his parents. He was a professional chef and cooked at a number of restaurants in both Madison and Minneapolis. Eric was highly intelligent. He was an avid and eclectic reader and staunchly defended the use of proper English grammar. He enjoyed a wide variety of music and it was an important part of his life and self-expression. He recently wrote that "Chris Cornell basically wrote and sang the soundtrack of my life for the past 30 years." Eric was an artist and expressed himself through painting, sculpture, jewelry making, cooking, and writing. In his younger days, Eric enjoyed playing sports. He was on the West High varsity volleyball team and played bas...[more]

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ball whenever he got a chance until joint injuries forced him off the court. He also enjoyed riding his motorcycle and traveling. He lived for short periods of time in California, Colorado and Virginia. Some of his favorite times were spent playing cards and board games with his family, and poker with friends and in tournaments. His most recent job was running poker tournaments in Minneapolis, where he was able to develop a close group of friends - his "poker family" - whom he missed greatly after moving back to Madison. He rooted for the Miami Dolphins and the Los Angeles Lakers. Eric had a special affinity for dogs and shared his life with childhood collie Simeon; his first dog on his own, Max; his canine soulmate, Butter; and his current dog, beloved German Shepherd, Sassy. In addition, he was a foster dad for a rescue group in Minneapolis. While his dogs were always family, Eric never got to realize his dream of having a wife and children of his own. Eric struggled throughout his life with both physical and mental health issues, including addiction. He was able to fight off his demons and was sober for the last eight years of his life, an accomplishment of which he was justifiably proud. Last fall, he developed a septic staph infection after a steroid injection for a shoulder injury and was on life support for two weeks. The infection caused his kidneys and lungs to fail and damaged tissues in several of his joints. After more than nine weeks of hospitalization, he was able to return home to continue his recovery. He was left with a number of disabilities, including limited use of his shoulders and excruciating nerve pain throughout his body. He was working with numerous doctors and therapists to regain as much function and quality of life as he could, and his sudden passing was a shock to everyone around him. Eric was a deep thinker and a very special soul. While he was shy, he also had the ability to charm everyone he met and was a true friend to those who took the time to get to know him well. He had a quick wit and an often-irreverent sense of humor that kept his sizable Facebook following entertained. Eric was deeply loved and will be greatly missed. Eric is survived by his loving parents; his sister Karen Yandell of Madison, who was with him throughout his recent illness and recovery; his brother and sister-in-law, K. David and Julie Yandell of Skokie, IL; and his sister and brother-in-law Merritt Yandell-Ahmad and Farhat Ahmad of Atlanta, GA. He is further survived by his nephews Steven Yandell of Chicago and Patrick Yandell of Skokie, IL, his aunt and uncle Colleen and Gary Strait, cousins Sarah (Jim) Zimmerman, Rebecca Murphy, Nick (Sara) Strait and Zack (Lindsay Williams) Strait and their families, his aunt Nancy Murphy, and cousins John (Jessie Kiernan), Angela (Evan Paulson) and Joseph DeGrandis, all of Michigan, and his canine companion, Sassy. He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Phil R. and Velma Yandell and John P. and Dee Murphy, and his uncle, J. Patrick Murphy, Jr. A visitation and celebration of Eric's life will be held on Saturday, June 3 from 2-4pm at Cress Funeral Home on 3610 Speedway Road in Madison. Memorials in Eric's name may be made to Lutheran Social Services or the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation. Eric's family would like to thank the staffs of Meriter and UW Rehabilitation Hospitals, especially his orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Amy Franta; the Meriter nurses, in particular Lauren and Cari; and his PT/OT team, most notably Ashmita at UW Rehab, Jaclyn and Mary at Select Specialty Hospital and Hallie at the UW Hospital PT Clinic. They also thank Eric's friends both old and new for loving him and appreciating the gifts he had to share with us. "this life is but the childhood of our immortality." - Denis Johnson (July 1, 1949 - May 26, 2017)