ERIC CARDA

Eric Jay Carda was born October 25th, 1963, in Sioux Falls. He passed away January 18th, 2022, in San Diego, CA, after a courageous battle with rare peritoneal cancer. He fought with grace and strength over the last two years, enduring the many challenges of treatment and other obstacles including the Covid Pandemic. He was very appreciative of the support of his family and friends and enjoyed reading every card & text and listening to voicemails.

Eric spent most of his childhood in Lake Andes, where the family moved in 1972. Prior to that, he lived in Perth, Australia; Sioux Falls, Bridgewater and Aberdeen.

Eric attended Andes Central Schools with his many cousins and friends and graduated with Andes Central’s largest ever class of 55 in 1981. He attended South Dakota State University, receiving his B.S. in Pharmacy in 1986. He subsequently received his Master of Public Health degree from Walden University in 2012. After graduating from SDSU, he worked as a staff pharmacist in Sioux City, IA and Yuma, AZ. In 1992 he moved to San Diego, CA where he worked at Scripps Clinic, MedImpact, and Pfizer, where he was employed the last 16 years. At Pfizer, he was the Sr. Director, National Payer Account Lead, a position he found both challenging and rewarding.

Eric was blessed to make lifelong friends from every location he lived or worked at. He strived hard to maintain these friendships over many years and many miles. He was well known for his wit, sarcasm and sense of humor. This was evidenced by his singing and dancing down the halls at school or by his making people laugh at wedding dances, get-togethers, work and any other place he was gathered with others. He loved making people laugh and enjoyed retelling his funny stories and adventures, including reminiscing about his pea-green Pinto and the infamous Cow Story!

Eric was very generous with his family and friends and organizations he believed in. He liked watching football and was a lifelong Vikings & Jackrabbits fan. He loved music, craft beers and all kinds of different foods. These experiences were often enjoyed with his close friends and family. He enjoyed traveling both domestically and abroad and was fortunate to be accompanied by his brother Chris on many of his wild adventures. Japan, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Costa Rica and Germany were just a few of his destinations. He also enjoyed gambling and was always trying to win that big jackpot. He liked going to many casinos to try his luck, which made Vegas one of his favorite destinations.

Eric is survived by his three brothers, James, Chris, and Matt Carda, all of Sioux Falls; one sister, Deb (Troy) Dautermann of West Bend, WI; his father James (Judy) Bruhn, Georgetown, DE; nephew Kennedy Carda, Seattle, WA; niece Raven (Gabe) Dolen and their children, Preslee & Fletcher, Hudson, WI; niece Jessica Dautermann, Warrenton, MO; and nephew Tyler Dautermann, West Bend, WI. He is also survived by many close friends he also considered family.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mary Rae and Duane Carda; grandparents; uncles Dick Cleveland and Bill Carda; aunts Corrine Tronvold, Joyce Carda and Shirley Dvorak; half-brother John Bruhn, and cousins Jamie Boetel and Tami Tweedy.

Two Celebrations of Life will be held to honor Eric. The first will be held March 5th, from 3-6 P.M. at the VFW – Pacific Beach, 853 Turquoise St, San Diego, CA. During the celebration, a Time of Remembrance will be held at 4 P.M. for people to share stories about Eric if desired. Feel free to come anytime during the hours as it will be an informal celebration. We will also have the hall rented out for the balance of the evening for any that wish to stay later.

The second Celebration of Life will be at a later date TBD in Lake Andes, with an accompanying inurnment at St. Mark’s Cemetery, Lake Andes.