Eric C. Smoyer
October 22, 1987 – April 22, 2024
Eric Smoyer, resident of Omaha, NE, passed away on April 22, 2024 at the age of 36, after bravely battling advanced melanoma for multiple years.
Eric, a Cybersecurity Informaticist and Physical Therapist at OrthoNebraska, is survived by his beloved dog, Izzy; his parents, Kevin and Sandra (Beck) Smoyer, of Phillips; brother, Matthew and his wife, Gina, of Omaha; brother, Brent and his wife, Elizabeth, of Omaha; as well as niece, Elliott; and nephews, Lawrence and Arthur.
Eric was born in Aurora, NE, on October 22, 1987. A 2006 Alumni of Grand Island Northwest High, Eric went on to excel in the High Jump and study athletic training before graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan University in 2010. After a brief stint as an athletic trainer for Lincoln Southeast High, he capped his academic career with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Eric would later return to his home state of Nebraska and spent the next several years at OrthoNebraska, treating patients and athletes as a physical therapist and athletic trainer before ultimately turning his passion for technology into an unexpected new career path, and transitioning to the head of cybersecurity within OrthoNebraska’s Cybersecurity Department. The accolades Eric accumulated throughout his career are extensive, with the most recent being awarded “Employee of the Year 2023” for OrthoNebraska.
Eric was a beloved dog dad, son, brother, but most of all an uncle. He loved spending time with his nephews and niece any time he could. He often enjoyed covering rodeo events as part of the OrthoNebraska Sports Medicine Team. Away from work you could often find him out in his yard, making certain no weed would survive his perfectly manicured lawn. He was happiest when he was cooking any of his Food Network finds or working on one of his many home projects, and above all he loved spending time with family and friends.
Eric was preceded in death by his grandparents, Lowell and Helen Smoyer of Fullerton and Albin; Alyce Beck of Clarks; as well as his aunts and uncles: Mary (Smoyer) Holdorff, Phyllis (Smoyer) Schroeder, Douglas Smoyer and Timothy Smoyer.
Family will receive friends on Friday, April 26th, from 4:00PM – 5:30PM at Heafey-Hoffmann-Dworak-Cutler, West Center Chapel with a Vigil Service at 5:30PM.
Mass of Christian Burial: Saturday, April 27th, 10 a.m. at the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church, 5419 N 114th St, Omaha, NE. Rev. Ryan Lewis will officiate.
Eric will be interred with family at Calvary Cemetery in Clarks NE .
Memorials may be directed to the family.
38 Comments
My heart brakes for you.
My prayers for peace are with you
As one of Eric’s professors at the Mayo Clinic Program in Physical Therapy, I truly enjoyed Eric in the academic setting. He was bright, kind and always willing to lend a hand with the latest educational technology that involved computers. I am so saddened to hear of his passing. May all the fond memories sustain your family at this difficult times. I am glad that our paths crossed in Rochester.
Smoyer Family – so sorry for your loss. Sending prayers your way during this difficult time.
My sincere condolences
Sandy and Family, My deepest sympathies to you. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.
Our deepest sympathies to Kevin and Sandy and their family.
To the entire Smoyer family…..Dave and I send our deepest prayers and support. May God help you through this time in the days and years ahead
It breaks my heart to hear of Eric’s passing. Sending my love to you Sandy and to the entire family. You will be in my thoughts and prayers.
We are so very sorry to hear of your loss. Sending prayers your way.
Sandy, Kevin, and Family:
My heart is saddened to hear about Eric. Please know you are bein
Sandy, Kevin, and Family,
May God wrap his arms around you all and give you comfort and peace during this sad sad time! I am so very sorry!
We are so very sorry for your loss. Sending prayers your way.
Kevin and Sandy, we are heartbroken for your loss. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers, now and in the days ahead. Sarah and Jon
Sandy,Kevin,Brent,Matt and families. I am so sad to hear of Eric’s passing. I remember telling him to just wait to finish your jump. Count the birds, look at the clouds, just wait. Once he did that 6’4 was easy. My thoughts and prayers are with you for a wonderful son. Coach Gee
Kevin, Sandy and Family. As you share, talk, and remember may you truly find that the one you loved so much is still living in your heart. Our thoughts and prayers are with you during this most difficult time.
Tiffany and I send our deepest condolences. I have many Cedar Hollow and Northwest memories of Eric and it sounds as though he lived a truly inspirational life in the years since our paths crossed. May God be with you all in this time of mourning!
The Shuda family
So sorry hear about Eric’s passing. I will keep the Smoyer family in my prayers.
So sorry, for the loss , of your, brother, Matt!! My sincere thoughts of you and your family,sending strength, love and comfort 😇🙏
Kevin, Sandy, Brent, Matt, and families. Marcia and I are truly saddened about your incredible loss. Our prayers are for you and your family at this time. May the Holy Spirit comfort you and provide peace in your hearts.
Kevin, Sandy, & family, So sorry to hear about your son & brothers 🙏🙏🙏
It was w great pleasure and pride to watch Eric grow in undergraduate and then to move on to Physicsl Therapy DPT program at my Alma mater. Mayo Clinic. Eric was a great Pt Tech at Exstrom Physicsl Therapy and was very focused on the goal..
I continued to reach out to Eric for Omaha referrals when Lincoln patients wanted a second opinion.
I will miss Eric personally as a friend and professionally as a Physicsl therapist
Thinking of him makes me smile. Remember all your great days with him. And Smile.
It was w great pleasure and pride to watch Eric grow in undergraduate and then to move on to Physicsl Therapy DPT program at my Alma mater. Mayo Clinic. Eric was a great Pt Tech at Exstrom Physical Therapy and was very focused on the goal..
I continued to reach out to Eric for Omaha referrals when Lincoln patients wanted a second opinion.
I will miss Eric personally as a friend and professionally as a Physicsl therapist
Thinking of him makes me smile. Remember all your great days with him. And Smile.
Kevin and Sandy we are so sorry for the loss of your incredibly gifted so n. We hold you in our prayers and praying that your many good memories help to give you peace and comfort in this difficult time.
We are with you in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.
We are so very sorry for your loss. We didn’t know Eric personally, but his dad recently put a new walk in shower in our home in Fullerton, and Sandy was a great mentor to me when I had my surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Our prayers go out to you and your family. You will see him again!!!! Praise the Lord!
Kevin , Sandy and family I’m so sorry to hear of Eric’s passing. Keeping all of you in our thoughts and prayers .
Kevin and Sandy, Brent and Matt and families – We are so terribly sorry to hear of Eric’s passing. Handsome, sweet, smart, friendly, talented – he was everything a family could hope for in a son and brother. I just loved working with him when he would come into T-Shirt Engineers. If only we could take some of your pain, we would.
Sandy my heart hurts for you. It sounds like Eric was an amazing person.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Randy and Cindy Kemp
Randy and Cindy Kemp
Kevin and Sandi we are so sorry to hear about Eric. Sending our thoughts and prayers to you and your whole family. Keith and Jo Harvey
Kevin, Sandy and family: Vince and I send our deepest condolences to you. May you feel God’s love and peace during this very difficult time. We’ll keep you in our prayers.
We were so saddened to hear of Eric’s death. You are in our prayers. Our son, Austin, has so many memories of the Smoyer boys. We pray that God holds you in the palm of his hand.
Please accept my Love and Deepest Condolences for the loss your beloved Eric. My heart and hugs for your healing.
Eric was a great human and will be missed here on earth. What a blessing he was. I pray for peace and comfort to all who knew Eric and especially the Smoyer family. My sincere sympathy is this great loss.
I’m Eric’s next door neighbor. He was a great guy and an awesome neighbor. He and Izzy will be greatly missed! I plan on stopping by the viewing, depending on weather. I can speak for all of Eric’s neighbor’s in saying, please don’t hesitate to reach out for help, for comfort, or for anything else that you may need.
So very sorry to hear of your loss, sending our heartfelt condolences during this most difficult time.
Sandy and Kevin. Matt, Brent and families.. we are so sorry for your loss of Eric.. We didn’t know him well. But he always greeted us with a kind smile, Whenever we ran across him.. He sounds like he was a wonderful, accomplished young man and he will be deeply missed.. Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with you.
Deepest condolences to the Smoyer family, So sorry to hear this. My thoughts are with you.
Brent, I am so sorry for your loss. Your family is in our prayers and we are sending extra love your way. The Sissler Family
Words can’t describe how sorry I am for your loss. I had the privilege of knowing Eric for over seven years. I was his stylist at Sport Clips. Eric was an amazing person and I’m blessed to have known him. He will be greatly missed.
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