Ēriks Zirnis (96) of Kentwood, Michigan, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. He was preceded in death by his parents, Voldemārs and Irma Zirnis; and sister, Lidija Stanēviča. Ēriks will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 66 ½ years, Māra; son, Aivars (Laima) Zirnis; daughter, Ingrīda (Jeffrey) Heinze; grandchildren, Dāvids and Ērika Heinze; sister, Mirdza Eglīte; and many relatives in Latvia.
Ēriks was born in Rīga, Latvia on June 1 st , 1929. During World War II, at the age of 15, he was forcibly conscripted into the German army in 1944 as the eastern front moved through Latvia and the other Baltic States. He was shipped off to Germany and never saw his parents again. Following the war and a period as a displaced person in Allied-occupied Germany, he was able to immigrate to Hamilton, Canada as part of that country’s programme of sponsoring refugees to combat labour shortages. In 1960, he relocated to Grand Rapids to marry Māra Cībante and start a family within the Latvian community there. Ēriks was employed as a machinist/tool-and-die maker by the McDonnell Douglas Aerospace Corporation for 25 years, retiring in 1989. A ‘renaissance man’ his entire life, he was not only a skilled handyman (often fixing home and garden appliances for his family and at the Latvian Lutheran Church where he was a member), talented gardener, and grill-master, but was also active well into his 70s and 80s skiing, playing tennis, traveling the world, participating in table tennis tournaments (1971 City of Kentwood Table Tennis Championships, 2nd Place), hunting, and spending time with friends and family. He will be greatly missed.
A celebration of Ēriks’ life will take place on Monday, May 4, 2026, at Faith Lutheran Church (2740 Fuller Ave. NE) in Grand Rapids. Visitation will begin at 10:00am, followed by a memorial service at 11:00am, officiated by The Rev. Aija Graham.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Latvian Center Garezers or to Corewell Health Foundation West Michigan (benefitting hospice).
4 Responses
Erick was a fine gentleman and a good friend love life fun to be around. He will be missed. God bless him and may he rest in peace.❤️🙏🏻😇
My love and prayers go out to the family at this difficult time .
Erik was a kind and quiet man, observing everything and his sense of humor , smile and laugh will always be remembered!! He’s watching over his family in a different way now and will let you know he’s there ♥️
My uncle Erik will be remembered as an energetic and very loving person to all his loved ones. A man who created his own family far away from his homeland, with his erudition, perseverance and professionalism won authority and then passed it on to his children(Aivars and Ingrida) and supported his grandchildren(Érika and Dávids) with great enthusiasm. I,m vey proud of my uncle. Agris with his family from Latvia.
Mums visiem būs tikai tās vislabākās atmiņas par Ēriku, kā krietnu, labestīgu un sirsnīgu cilvēku. Un mums visiem viņš pietrūks. Sūtam jo īpaši ciešus apskāvienus Mārai, Ingrīdai, Aivaram, Dāvidam un Ērikai. Līdzjūtība no sirds visai Ērika ģimenei un tuviniekiem. Lai gaišs ceļš Ērikam mūžībā! 🙏 Ar jums skumjās kopā Raimonds, Laila, Signe un Artūrs Lazdiņi