Erwin L. Erker: Family Vacation
Planner
Erwin
L. Erker and his wife, Ann, met when she worked at a
McDonald's in Queens where he had once worked. They saw
the film "Halloween" on their first date. "From then on,
we were together," Mrs. Erker said.
Mr. Erker, 41, a vice president at Marsh and McLennan,
used to plan vacations for the family, which includes
Lauren, 13, and Andrew, 10. He had a soft spot for the
cabins at Kampgrounds of America. He picked campgrounds
near points of interest like Salem, Mass., Luray Caverns,
and Dorney Park in Pennsylvania, Mrs. Erker said,
recalling the trip when Big E (his nickname, for his
large personality) stole her doughnut.
"Nobody owned up to it, but he had it," she said. "It
was in his pocket. He was a sweets fanatic."
Their only bad vacation, she said, involved an
uninvited mouse in a rented house when they went skiing
one year. But it wasn't all bad: "We laughed all
weekend."
"He always did things with the kids," she said. Lauren
plays the trombone, and he liked attending her concerts
and listening to her jazz festival CD. He went to
Islanders games with Andrew, and they played basketball
tournaments in Andrew's room, using a hoop attached to
his closet door. It is still there.
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