BROOKSVILLE
On Sept. 14, 2017, Eric Czerwinski, 43, died unexpectedly of unknown causes in his home in Brooksville. He was born June 7, 1974, in Blue Hill to Walter (Butch) and Janice Czerwinski. He spent most of his childhood in Florida and Connecticut. During his teenage years, Eric was on the road traveling with the Grateful Dead. Then he moved on to exploring the undersides of his favorite cities San Francisco and New York, before settling back in Maine near his family in his mid-20s. It was then that he took over The Café Out Back restaurant behind his parents’ store in Bucks Harbor, beginning his career as a culinary artist. His most recent endeavor was Ting Tong to Go, a mobile street food service, featured in The Ellsworth American, that brought his love of Asian cuisine to the Blue Hill Peninsula.
Eric was a rebel by nature and a seeker of truth, alchemist and artist, and autodidact to the end. He had many talents and loved to indulge the senses. He was a gifted chef who succeeded in expressing his full nature through the food he made for others, and nothing made him happier than cooking for those he loved. His insatiable appetite for ethnic foods and culture, literature, conversation and all things sensate brought him in and out of many worlds that influenced his eccentric style.
Eric was a devoted father, husband, brother and son. Family was very important to him. He is survived by his equally devoted wife, Piari Weiss, and their 7-year-old son, Lucian, whom he adored; his loving parents, Walter (Butch) and Janice Czerwinski, of Hollywood, Fla.; his dedicated sister, Kelly Czerwinski, her husband, Grant, and their newborn baby; beloved Uncle Tommy and Aunt Carol Pascal of Brooksville; Aunts Mary Ellen of Connecticut and Lorraine Tall of Vermont; and many cousins, including Camille Pascal, her partner, Steve Peasley, and their son, Jack, of Brooksville. He is also survived by his ever-loyal pit bulls Penny and Benny and will be missed by many. His free spirit inspired unconditional love, respect, creativity, and stillness in those who experienced his pure and generous heart. Though his body is gone, that spirit remains. Eric, you are loved.