Eric Lee Richter

Eric was predeceased by his father, Gary Don Richter, and his paternal grandparents, Herbert “Buck” Richter and Mildon “Chatchie” Rae Finney Richter Havins. He is survived by his mother, Sandra McFarland of San Marcos, Texas; his maternal grandparents, Robert and Barbara McFarland; his maternal aunts, Gayle Arnn, Julia Russell, and Pamela Walsh; his six cousins and numerous extended family members. Ruby, the family dog, also mourns for Eric.

Eric was born in Houston, Texas, the only child of Sandra McFarland and Gary Don Richter. He graduated from Round Rock High School, in Round Rock, Texas in 2009 where he excelled academically and played varsity basketball for four years. Eric attended Texas State University (2009-2010) where he was on the Dean’s list and a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. In Spring 2011, Eric traveled around the world with the Semester at Sea program before transferring to the University of Texas at Austin. He lived in Santa Monica and Hollywood in 2014-2015 before returning to the Austin area while his dad fought a short and fatal battle with brain cancer. Since 2015, Eric has struggled with the diagnosis and symptoms of schizophrenia, including anosognosia (lack of insight). Stigma, discrimination and a non-existent mental health care system contributed to Eric’s disability and death.

Eric’s family celebrated his life on April 8, 2023. In lieu of flowers, donations to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Central Texas https://namicentraltx.org/donate/ in memory of Eric are appreciated. Sandra can be notified at PO Box 341300, Austin, TX 78734 or [email protected] .