Obituary of Eric Lee Greiff

Eric Lee Greiff, 55, of Vancouver, WA passed away on December 16, 2010 at Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital after a short but courageous battle with Liver Cancer. His daughters were by his side. Eric was born in Yakima, WA on March 1, 1955 to Carl & Delsa Greiff. He grew up in Yakima and graduated from Davis High School. He entered the Field Construction Boilermaker Apprenticeship program in 1975 thru the Boilermakers International Local 104 in Yakima. After successful completion in 1979 Eric continued with the Boilermakers for 31 years. Most of those years were spent in the field working at numerous oil refineries, power plants & mills around the Pacific Northwest. Eric spent seven years as a shipyard Boilermaker in Portland, OR for Cascade General & Mar Com Inc. where he was a foreman. He was trained in non-destructive testing, was a shipyard competent person and wrote many of the welding procedures utilized by the yards. He was certified to weld all types of steel and pipe materials. Eric had just retired in June of 2010 from Local 502 in Tacoma, WA. Eric married Danielle Prigent on August 2, 1974 and they had two daughters. They were later divorced. On January 18, 1992 Eric married Janice Bartin, who also had two daughters. The four girls were all very close in age so their teen years were quite an adventure. Eric & Janice later divorced. Eric loved the water & the sun, which you could always tell by his deep, dark tan. If the sun was out, Eric wanted to be on the river in his boat. The metallic purple Jetster is very well known on the Willamette & Columbia Rivers as "Unc's" boat; which is the nickname that most of his friends knew him by. And he had many, many close friends that he treasured. He loved taking the kids water skiing or tubing, going rock or agate hunting or just cruising on the river. Eric also enjoyed kite flying, drag racing, old time rock and roll, cats, naps, margaritas & toys. He was very much a kid at heart. And you can't forget the popcorn eating sessions with his kids & grandkids, and you would wonder if they got any in their mouths when you saw the floor afterward! Eric is survived by his daughters, Jessica & husband Derek and Nicole & fiancé Mason both of Vancouver, WA. ; Grandchildren Kodee, Alysa, Monique, Erica, Jaxon, Tayler and Macie; Mother Delsa of Yakima, WA.; Brothers Max & wife Karen of Richland, WA, Von of Pasco, WA and Hans of Yakima, WA.; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and his beloved cat Boots, all of whom will miss him terribly! He was preceded in death by his father. A memorial service will be held at Straub's Funeral Home at 325 NE Third Ave. Camas, WA 98607 on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at 2:00pm. To send condolences or to sign the online guestbook please visit www.straubsfuneralhome.com.