His friends say Eric Newman of Bend was a great friend, husband and father.
“We shared stories about life. And living and the real hard and beautiful parts about it. That’s what makes friendship so valuable,” Newman’s best friend Michael O’Casey said.
Newman was shot and killed at a boat ramp in Montana Wednesday. The shooter then took his own life. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said it happened after a verbal argument between Newman and the shooter.
O’Casey says the impact Newman and his family had on the community is nothing short of impressive. He says hundreds of people have reached out in support, sharing memories and stories of Newman.
“That common thread that ties all of the comments and the memories and the grief for his loss… was his his authenticity and his genuine nature. As a kind and caring and passionate human that a vigor for life that was rarely exemplified,” O’Casey said.
RELATED: Deputies: Bend father shot, killed in Montana after boat ramp argument
Newman worked in the IT department for St. Charles and was an outdoorsman. No matter where he went, his three young children were always there with him.
Mathew Miller met Newman through work and a bond was formed immediately.
“Eric would drive halfway across the country just to hang out with you and give you the shirt off his back. He was just a solid, solid guy,” Miller said.
To his friends, Newman was the kind of person we could all aspire to be.
“He would drop off firewood that he harvested with his family, and he didn’t even have a fireplace,” O’Casey said. “He would drop it off because he knew we did, and he knew others did. It was fun for him. They’d go out and do family trash pickups on public land just because he knew it was the right thing to do.”
Newman’s friends say he should be remembered for the exceptional passion he had for his family, the husband that we was and how amazing of a father he was to his children.
Newman wrote a story in Oregon Hunter magazine in 2020. It details his first elk hunt with his son. You can find it here on page 22.
You can share memories, condolences or donate to the Newman family for Eric’s end of life expenses here.
