Please help with the funeral costs for Eric Morman

JOHN ERIC JAMES MORMAN was born on the 17th September 1946 in Otahuhu, Auckland. Many of you will know him as “ERIC” or in the fishing world as “Lethal”. Eric was introduced to fishing at a very young age through his grandfather. Who would have known that this contribution would last him a lifetime.

Eric married the love of his life - Nga on the 16th November 1985. They explored a very full and adventurous life together, with many fishing expeditions; which included, all around Auckland harbours, the Mokohinau’s, the back end of the Great Barrier, Russell, Whangaroa, Cape Karikari, Matauri Bay, Whakatane and around other parts of New Zealand. Nga herself even learnt how to be an expert fisher-woman and we credit that to Eric.

For those of you who know Eric and Nga well, you will also know that they demonstrated a great example of what love, marriage and a great relationship should be. They built a beautiful life together and shared this with their cats who were their children. They moved to Kerikeri 6 years ago to enjoy a life in nature and to be closer to the sea. Eric was a keen gardener; he kept a strawberry and vegetable patch, green house and beautiful flower gardens. This “back to nature” lifestyle was so important to both him and Nga.

Eric’s talents and knowledge were not limited to just fishing. Eric had a real love for Formula One racing and followed it faithfully. He and Nga enjoyed watching the racing, spending hours in conversation with many of you talking about motors, wheels and engines. Eric was also very skilled with computers. And what some of you may not know is that he was self-taught. He spent hours learning and creating all sorts of things; from music, to short films and DVDs. Eric went on to produce his own fishing DVDs and many of you would have seen these.

But what Eric was mostly well known for - was his fishing. He was described by many as a “true fishing legend”. Eric touched many people through his passion for fishing.

Here are some of the comments from Fishing.net.nz -

• “Ahh Lethal – NZ fishing legend”

• “Eric showed me a lot about fishing”

• “A great fisherman who delighted in sharing his expertise”

• “Truly one of the good buggars”

• “One of NZ’s greatest modern day fisherman”

• “One of NZ’s fishing industry legends”

• “Your Legacy will not be forgotten. You gained the respect of many … Thank you for being you”

• “Lethal had an amazing passion for our fishery and was never afraid to make that known to those would take the time to listen. Whether you agreed or not it was hard not to respect that passion”

• “Was one of the true genuine good guys”

• “Genuine, and no nonsense to the core. A true pioneer and Kiwi Fishing Legend”

• “There are good fishermen. Then there was Lethal”

• “Highly respected, even by those of us who never met him”

• “We all learnt something from him that made a difference in our lives”

• “A man widely respected by everyone who knew him”.

Less than two weeks ago, Eric was diagnosed with a chest infection, which led to pneumonia. His passing was sudden.

We would ask if you could please help by donating whatever you can, to ease the financial strain of Eric's funeral costs.