Erik Christopher Neither was in the midst of big plans. He was building a T-shirt business, preparing to marry his beloved fiancée and getting ready to start a computer repair service after completing programming coursework through the University of Phoenix.
“He’s one of those nerdy guys (with) computers and electronics and gadgets and trinkets. He loved to hook stuff up and make it work and find out what the problem was,” said his brother, Carl Clayborn.
“Any programming issue, hook-up to the internet, connect to the internet, you know, program your Fire Stick or your Roku or whatever — Erik was the one that everybody would call.”
Neither, 54, remained that stalwart source of support until his final day, when he brought his fiancée to safety before he died after a boating accident on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
On June 25, three days before their wedding, Neither and his fiancée, Courtney Stinnett, were canoeing with his son and nephew in a retention pond near the Willows housing addition when the boat overturned, sending its occupants into the water.
Neither grabbed his fiancée and handed her to his nephew, who was able to hold on to her and Neither’s son and call for help, Clayborn said. But they couldn’t find Neither.
“After he handed his fiancée off to my son, my son turned around to see where he was. He said he didn’t see him any longer,” Clayborn said.
Emergency personnel responded, and scuba divers used sonar devices and underwater cameras in the search, according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. On the afternoon of June 26, crews found Neither’s body.
And so during a time that was supposed to be dedicated to celebration, Neither’s family members are navigating his loss while remembering his talents and deep love for them.
Neither was born Jan. 22, 1972, in East St. Louis, Illinois. Although their births were separated by a decade, Clayborn and his baby brother bonded quickly.
“I got four more sisters and then Erik came along as the baby, the last child my mom had, and we were 10 years apart so until I got out of high school and went off to college … I kind of took him with me no matter where I went,” Clayborn said.
As Neither grew, he paid close attention to his brother’s hobbies, like watching his father and Clayborn play chess. At East St. Louis Lincoln Sr. High School, Neither joined the chess club and speech team and competed in cross country and track and field.
He also was known to bend the occasional boundary, thanks in part to his position as the baby of the family growing up. As a teenager, Neither borrowed his sister’s car late one night without telling her — and then used her entire tank of gas. She was livid upon discovering it, so Neither blamed his brother.
“He kind of said, ‘Well, I did it because Carl … he did it,'” said Clayborn, who’d previously used his sister’s car without telling her. “So I was like, ‘Man, you telling on me, too, man, be quiet.'”
After high school, Neither served in the Navy, first in Long Beach and later in San Diego, Clayborn said. After his service, Neither leaned on his entrepreneurial skills, starting a delivery company in Texas and then a business to sell T-shirts for special occasions, which he had been building after moving to Indianapolis around 2019.
“He had a decent amount of orders where families were having graduations, celebrations and graduates from school, and everybody wanted a shirt with a picture of their son or daughter who was graduating,” Clayborn said.
Neither was excited about another big life plan, too, which took root in 2021 when he met Stinnett on Bumble. The couple had a natural chemistry and a dedication to growing together over the past five years, as they wrote on their wedding page at The Knot.
“This isn’t a perfect love story- but it’s a real one,” the couple’s story reads on the site. “One built on resilience, growth, and a deep understanding of what it means to stand by each other through anything.”
Throughout his life, family remained important to Neither, who was a father and grandfather. At gatherings, everyone enjoyed his egg pies, which were just one of the fruits of the from-scratch baking skills he learned from his grandmother.
“Any type of cake or pie you want, Erik could make it,” said Clayborn, who lives in Fishers.
And Neither played a key role in bringing his family together to enjoy the desserts at reunions, where they would play Phase 10, dominoes, spades and other card games, Clayborn said.
“He was very adamant about us staying in touch, even though we had gotten older and everybody was in different places,” Clayborn said.
The family is currently making arrangements for a celebration of Neither’s life.
Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indy man who died in water accident before his wedding was a tech expert and baker
Reporting by Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Domenica Bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
