Eric Arden Pardee, loving husband, father, brother, and son who believed family was everything and acted accordingly, passed away on May 23rd at 69 years young after a four year battle with pancreatic cancer, with his wife’s arms around him.



Eric counted every day he had with his loving wife Susan Dietz Pardee as a blessing; even the pandemic couldn’t phase him because it just meant he got to spend more time with his favorite person in the world.Although they weren’t able to go on their many planned travels thanks to COVID, they did spend their time walking at Acacia, visiting Mentor Headlands and Edgewater, and most importantly trying to watch every available show on Netflix and Hulu cuddled up and falling asleep together. He loved board games and card games, largely due to having the devil’s own luck as Susan often lamented after losing another hand. His other great love, which he passed on to all his children and his granddaughter, was his love of reading. Dune, Ringworld, the Red Mars trilogy and endless computer coding books were just a tiny sampling of the many he read; crack open a book in honor of Eric and travel to another world.



Eric was a fiercely loyal friend who spent his life working, learning, hiking, biking, running marathons, swimming and taking yearly road trips all around the country to “inculturate the tiny barbarians” as he termed his three children. Road trips included books on tape and musicals, to which his children knew all the words. He loved his children unconditionally, and we all loved him to the moon and back and will miss him every day.



Eric was born and raised in Guys Mills, a small town of less than 200 people in Pennsylvania, and went on to build a life in Cleveland, Ohio as well as travel to Japan, India, France, and Belize. He was comfortable and happy wherever he was as long as he was with his family; his mind was as open as the universe and everyone he met could sense his love and acceptance.



After earning his MBA, Eric went to work for KeyBank in systems and IT, and worked there through his career except for a short stint with Cole Optical. Asked about his work, he said every day he got to solve a puzzle. He loved the mental exercise and cherished his colleagues and team. Active in the community, over his years he was a Heights Library Trustee, CH-UH Lay Finance Committee Co-Chair, Democratic Committee member, Great Decisions co-facilitator and supporter of many important causes in the community. He was also his wife’s biggest supporter, managing her successful City Council campaigns through three terms.



Eric's family includes his wife Susan, his daughters Kelsey Leigh Pardee, Elisabeth Lynn Kewalramani (Sumit)granddaughter Maya Margaret Kewalramani of Chicago IL, and Val Pardee of Portland OR. In addition, other members of his family include his brother Craig Pardee of Meadville PA. He was preceded in death by his father Arden Pardee, mother Margaret Pardee, and younger brother Joel.



Celebration of Life will be held June 27, 2021 from 2-5 PM at Proximity Golf Lounge (3099 Mayfield Rd, Cleveland Hts. 44118).  In lieu of flowers please consider making a donation to the Cleveland Food Bank, WCPN 90.3, or Hospice of Western Reserve.