Help Eryn rebuild after a devastating tragedy

In Memory of Myles Merwart

On June 2, Eryn Merwart lost her soulmate due to Myles Merwart's sudden, tragic passing. Her world was changed in all the worst possible ways. The last thing she should have to worry about as she grieves is how to pay bills. Myles was the main financial support in the family, and Eryn, being unable to work, is now not only grieving the loss of the love of her life, but worrying about how she's going to support herself going forward. We in her circle of family, friends and acquaintances, would like to ease that burden as much as we can, so she can concentrate on these first, excruciating, hellish days without the person who would normally be her rock.

As long as I've known Eryn Leedale Merwart, she has been part of a loving marriage that I envied and then did my damnedest to learn from. She told me once that, when her father was walking her down the aisle, they were doing that slow-walk that we all see in the movies, as you'd expect. Then she spotted Myles waiting for her at the altar. She just about dislocated her father's arm as she dragged him the rest of the way in a quickstep. She could not WAIT to get to the end of that aisle, to start their marriage; to spend the rest of their lives together. Since then, and up until June 2, Myles has been her biggest cheerleader, her strongest shoulder and her best friend. His loss is incalculable, as is her grief.

On a personal note, I'd like to tell you about my own friendship with Eryn. We've known each other for more than 20 years, and her friendship and quiet support, have been a blessing to me. We've talked through our troubles late into the night, laughed until our ribs ached, cried over shared losses, and watched for dolphins together. I have sat in silence and marvelled as I observed her calmly and gracefully navigating challenges that would have caused me to completely lose control.

We have a LOT of stories together. I won't go into them, though, because I am not unique. Eryn has enriched many lives. Countless friends, acquaintances, and strangers have benefited from her kind, unobtrusive assistance. If you're a member of the International Buster Keaton Society, where Eryn has been an integral member of our DamFamily (serving as all-around helper, Convention Co-Chair, and later President), then you have been touched by her excellent work. If you weren't previously aware of that fact, I'm telling you now.

That is all to be commended, but to us, her family, and her family of friends, she is quite simply part of the warp and weft of our lives. Every day, multiple times a day, I see something that she made, or that reminds me of her, and I smile.

Eryn has lost her own smile for a bit. I can't ease that burden for her, as much as I wish I could. I can, however, ask for your assistance in easing her financial situation so that she can spend more time attending to regaining her emotional footing. It is a very, very small thing to ask on behalf of someone who means so much, to so many of us.

With thanks and appreciation,

Graceann Macleod