Eric Roy Gartner

Our beloved son, brother, and friend Eric Roy Gartner joined his Lord in heaven on Wednesday, December 20, 2017. He was 53 years old. He was born on Saturday, December 5, 1964 to Albert and Marion Gartner and was the youngest of four children and their only son. Adored by his parents and sisters, Eric grew up in Garden Grove, California to be a wonderfully talented, kind, intelligent, generous, caring, sensitive man who loved hiking, traveling, politics, local history, exploring the world, exploring Los Angeles (where he lived for over ten years), and computers. Eric loved to hike and camp and started his first adventure at age two with his family with numerous camping trips and went on several backpacking trips with his sister Cindy and parents including climbing to the top of Mt. Whitney and down to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back up! Several backpack trips throughout the Sierra Nevada and local mountains always found Eric with his foot on a rock as he posed for photos. He was such fun! Growing up, Eric had many friends in grade school, junior, and senior high school. He met his best friend James on the first day of 9th grade and they were like brothers for decades. He attended University of California at Riverside and graduated in 1988 with a Bachelor of Science in Math and a second major in Computer Science. With a mathematical and computer background his meticulous and detailed mind blended well with the advent of the personal computer. He wrote his first computer program for the Volkswagen Beetle (diagnostic repair) completing it in 1990. He developed his own business Meta-Cog Software and from this designed and wrote his greatest achievement - AutoTech - completing it by the end of the 1990s. Eric designed his own website (years before templates), offered tech support to customers, marketed AutoTech by himself, met with many companies, and often packaged up thousands of copies to be shipped. Over time he would hire others to package for him (including a homeless man) but he would oversee this too. His attention to detail helped make AutoTech a success and this practical diagnostic car program would be sold nationwide for many years in stores such as Walmart, Target, and PepBoys. About 6,100 stores in both USA and Canada sold this program and online worldwide giving Eric a very strong income that would last the rest of his life. A representative from Toyota found Eric online and was very impressedwith his work. Toyota hired him on as an independent contractor to create a troubleshooting program for tractors that would have paid very well and no doubt would have led to other projects with that company. Unfortunately my brother only completed the first part of that project. Eric loved the natural world, animals, and became an environmentalist. He had such a kind heart and would often feed stray cats that wandered by his apartment. Eric was also a believer in natural remedies and herbal supplements for his own life. He enjoyed exercising and tried hard to live a healthy lifestyle every day. Eric traveled extensively throughout the world including several countries in Europe, Israel, Japan, Brazil, and Russia. He married his wife Angelika who was from Russia and they had many happy years during their 12 year marriage but unfortunately that marriage ended, causing him great anguish. Eric often talked about moving to Idaho to start a new life but that never came to be. Over the last several years Eric suffered emotionally. He was burdened with a terrible disease that stopped the joy in his life. He refused treatment though his family and friends constantly encouraged it. This was his choice. His suffering had reached its limit on December 20th. Eric will always be loved and remembered as a generous and kind man who had a dry sense of humor which we all loved. It is great comfort to his family and friends that he found his faith during the last year of his life and was a very strong believer in Jesus Christ. Eric is out of pain now and at great peace. He is survived by his parents Al & Marion, his sister Cathy and her husband Ed and their son Michael, his sister Suzanne and her boyfriend Grant and her daughter Megan, his sister Cindy and her husband Ken, and many friends.

Blessed are all who honor our loved one by remembering how they lived rather than how they died.

Donations can be made to NAMI-OC www.namioc.org

Visiting will be held at:

Dimond & Shannon Mortuary Chapel

10630 Chapman Ave,

Garden Grove, CA 92840

Wednesday, January 3, 2018 1-3pm

Arrangements under the direction of Dimond & Shannon Mortuary, Garden Grove, CA.