Somehow, it's been a year since we lost our Dad to cancer. He fought the worst diagnosis, stage IV pancreatic cancer, for 2 years and 7 months. While his diagnosis was devastating, we are exceedingly grateful for all the extra time we were granted to learn from him, laugh with him, and love him extra hard. It’s rare for stage IV patients to live longer than a year after diagnosis, but Dad had access to several treatments and his care team kept us in the loop about new trials he could participate in. These treatments are rough, but they were available and he did everything he could to keep fighting through the pain to stay with Sarah, his wife, and us kids as long as he could. We are so grateful for PanCan and the advancements in research that kept our dad with us for so long and thus, we are going to fight this fight until we’ve cured this horrible disease. No one else should have to lose their dad before they are ready. Thank you.

-Hilde, Heidi, Kiken Lena

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​Erik Stenvig of De Pere, WI passed away at home surrounded by his family on March 23, 2022. He was born in Pontiac, MI on May 25, 1965 to the late Norman and Ellen (Solberg) Stenvig. He was a first generation Norwegian-American. He attended Northport High School and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1991 from Michigan Technological University. He loved his work and was a Senior Project Manager at MJ Electric for 24 years. He married Sarah Roffers on August 18, 2019 on the De Pere Riverwalk.

Erik loved to travel to Alaska for hunting and fishing trips and was an avid camper, cyclist, dog-dad, prankster. He did the daily crossword, Wordle, and Nerdle and loved competing with his kids for the fewest guesses. He could help anyone who asked with their math and physics homework, which his kids, nieces, and nephew often did.

Erik could build and fix anything having worked as an apprentice tradesman before college. He spent the past six years building “The Grottage” on his property in Aura, Michigan, complete with a full garage, sleeping and living quarters, a traditional Scandinavian three-room sauna (that is bigger than his Cousin John’s), and a meticulously designed and breath-taking gazebo overlooking Lake Superior. He started every Grottage workday by sharing a Baileys & coffee with his father-in-law, Paul.

Erik was happiest when hosting his family and friends at the Grottage and was a fantastic cook and expert griller and smoker of meat and fish of any variety. Erik was always happy to share his vast wealth of knowledge and substantial tool collection, often problem solving for his brother-in-law, Mike. His kids will miss their family bear hugs and cherish the time they spent learning from him. They wish they had more time to soak up his wisdom and make him proud.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah Stenvig; his children, Hilary, Heidi, Kristian, and Lena; his brother, Arne Stenvig; his sister, Kristine (Mike) O’Day and their children, Cameron, Kara, and Megan; his sister-in-law, Jenny (Kevin) Fye and their daughters, Megan and Hannah; and his parents-in-law, Paul and Kay Roffers. He is proceeded in death by his parents, Norman and Ellen Stenvig.

His wife, Sarah, is forever grateful for their time together. Never good-bye, but rather until I see you again. Love you to the moon and back!

Erik’s family would like to offer a special thank you to Dr. Amritha Karkera and the entire staff at the Vince Lombardi Cancer Center and Aurora Hospice.