Erin Springsteen

West Point, 2002

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Allison Emery on April 26, 2004:

I feel as though I've written this about a million times in my head but haven't been able to actually write it until now. Bruce was an amazing person in every sense of the word. We met when I started dating Brent and I was kind of concerned how she would react to me given that she was the main girl in Brent's close D3 group of guys. Bruce immediately blew all of my preconceived notions out of the water- she welcomed me into the group with open arms and treated me as though I had always been there. Bruce was completely genuine- never caddy or petty, always completely straight up about where she stood. She always had a story to tell about some kind of situation she had managed to get herself into- like the time in AL she saw this teenage kid walking on the side of the road and she decided to pull over to give him a ride. She took him to his mom's work, and thought nothing of her good samaritan behavior until she realized her cell phone was gone. This kid had taken her cell phone! So, the next day, she went back and confronted the kid's mother in a fashion that only Bruce could do. Her cell phone was then promptly returned to her. Bruce had a million stories and always told them with that classic smile of hers. She was a facet in our lives- taking her oath with Brent, being a part of our wedding, living it up at flight school in AL, etc. Whether we were making fun of all the mullets at the Peanut Festival or just cooking out and playing bocce/Trivial Pursuit, Bruce was always there. I can still hear her saying "Dude... J. Brent, Al... what do you want me to do with these?" refering to the six pack of Corona Lights she brought to our cookouts. Bruce will live on in our memories and she will always be young, full of life, and smiling. I know I speak for myself and for the guys when I express my condolences to her family. Erin was very much loved and admired- She will never be forgotten, I can promise you that.

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