Eric Albert Aubrey (Lebanon)'s Obituary
Eric Albert Aubrey, 64, of Bettendorf, Iowa, passed away on July 17, 2023, after a sudden cardiac event.
Eric was born on April 5, 1959 to Leo A. Aubrey and Christel H. Aubrey (nee Braun) at the US Army Hospital in Frankfurt, West Germany. After Eric graduated from Waynesville High School, Waynesville, MO in 1977, he went on to attend college at Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University), where he enrolled in their Army ROTC program.
After graduating with a degree in Recreational Studies in 1981, he was commissioned as a 2LT in the Ordnance Corps. Eric attended the Ordnance Officer Basic Course at Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, AL followed by him completing the challenging Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) School at Indian Head Naval Station, Indian Head, MD. His first duty assignment was at the Technical Escort Unit, Aberdeen Proving Ground – Edgewood Arsenal, MD. He served there in various roles from 1982-85 and then transferred to the U.S. Army Reserves.
He returned to Missouri State University for a Master’s degree and was awarded an MBA in 1988. He joined the Quality Assurance Specialist, Ammunition Surveillance (QASAS) program and graduated with group 83 in April of 1991 at Savannah, Illinois. Eric’s first assignment was at Anniston Army Depot, Alabama. After five years there he went to Rock Island, Illinois to work with the Army Corps of Engineers. From 1999-2001 he was on Johnston Island working with the chemical demilitarization program. He returned to Rock Island in 2001, left the QASAS program, and stayed with the Corps of Engineers.
After 9/11, LTC Eric was called to Army Reserve active duty twice, serving at Aberdeen Proving Ground and Tank Automotive Command (TACOM) in Detroit. As a civilian with the Corps of Engineers, he volunteered for duty in Iraq in May 2004 and then served eight tours in Afghanistan from 2005-2014 working on military construction projects. He spent over five years deployed overseas for Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Eric also deployed twice to CONUS locations to support work for Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne. Eric received numerous awards throughout his years of federal service including the Commander’s Award for Civilian Service (2), the Special Act or Service Award (5) and he was awarded the 35 years length of Federal Service Award in April, 2019.
Eric spent his time supporting his beloved alma mater, the Missouri State University Bears. He listened to every MSU Bears football game, basketball game (men’s and women’s) and volleyball games. He always went back to Springfield, Missouri every October to attend the Homecoming parade and football games and would go to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) women’s basketball tournament in the Quad Cities to cheer on the Lady Bears in person. Eric had a very passionate interest in collecting military history memorabilia, specifically old military newspaper articles and scrapbooks. He was also a dedicated movie goer, watching new movies practically every weekend. He was a big ice cream lover and one of his favorite candies were “gummy bears”.
Eric was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Heidi A. Awes (nee Aubrey) who have passed away. He is survived by Fred L. Aubrey; Atlanta, GA; Christine I. Henry (nee Aubrey) and John R. Aubrey, Ashland, MO.
Services will be held at Runge Funeral Home August 1 at 10:00am in Davenport, Iowa. Graveside Service will be Wednesday, August 2nd at 11:00am at Mount Rose Memorial Park in Lebanon, Missouri. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Missouri State University, an institution Eric felt very strongly about.
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