Wade Donald Eilrich

Wade Donald Eilrich, age 61, of Grants Pass, died Thursday, September 25, 2014 at Three Rivers Medical Center.

A funeral mass will be at 3:30 p.m., Friday, October 3, 2014 at St. Anne Catholic Church with Father William Holtzinger officiating. Private interment will be at Hawthorne Memorial Gardens. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

Wade was born December 2, 1952 in Elmhurst, Illinois to Bill & Mimi Eilrich the oldest of ten children. At age four, the family moved to California and Wade grew up in the house his dad built in Santa Clara and at a cabin at Mi-wuk. To any that knew him it won’t be a surprise to hear that at age eight, he read the entire dictionary and age ten, he won a set of encyclopedias and read those. He started playing piano at age ten at a neighbor’s house and was gone so much his family had to buy him one so he’d be home. He worked in the Silicon Valley and played in Santa Cruz. The whole Bay area was him stomping grounds playing music. On June 13, 1987 he married Carla Tognoli and they had a daughter, Heather. Wade got his first computer, a Mac, while living in Watsonville and worked in the Silicon Valley developing some of the leading technology in computers of the 80s and 90s. In 2003 he moved to the Grants Pass area in Oregon and started working at St. Anne Catholic School as the computer teacher and played music for the children’s choir. He got his masters degree and continued helping at the school wherever they needed him. He loved every one at the school and his time there.

Wade is survived by his wife, Carla Eilrich; his daughter, Heather; his mother, Mimi Eilrich; his brothers and sisters, Gale, Ann, Mark, Joan, Kurt, Mary, Paul, and John.

His father, Bill Eilrich and brother, Karl Eilrich crossed into heaven previously.

Wade has many friends and extended family around the world that will sorely miss him being here. Wade is now a treasure in heaven.