Eric Hrabowski and his mother had worked all day together on the family’s property management business in a cooperative spirit that they joked did not always come easily to them. But that day they were joyful.

Then the whole family — Eric; his son, Elijah; his father, Freeman; and his mother, Jacqueline — cooked dinner together: grilled chicken, mac and cheese, greens and cauliflower.

“We had had the best day for so many reasons,” Freeman said. “The day ended at 12:30 that night, with a poem about the toughness of his life and about gratitude.”

A lifelong poet, Eric read the poem he had written recently, the last lines of which read:

“I am renewed, imbued with the passion of rebirth. I am worthy and so are you.”

The next morning, Freeman went down to his son’s bedroom and found him unresponsive. Elijah, 14, came to give his father CPR while they waited for an ambulance. It was too late, Freeman said. His son had gone into cardiac arrest. He died on March 11 . The cause has not been determined.

Eric Coleman Hrabowski was born March 29, 1975 in Urbana, Illinois, his parents’ only child. By 1977, the family had settled in Baltimore, and he grew up with a father who was becoming known in the community as the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

He went to Mt. Washington Elementary School, then to the Gilman School for middle school, and graduated from McDonogh School.

His friend since kindergarten, George Derek Musgrove, said Eric was gentle, kind and handsome.

As young boys, the two were often mistaken by teachers. Eric and Derek. The names sounded alike and they were both light-skinned Black boys with sandy brown hair, Musgrove said.

They also both grew up in Black elite Baltimore with parents who had done well. “He was a really pleasant guy that was part of the group that saw the whole world stretch out in front of us,” said Musgrove, an associate professor of history at UMBC.

Eric spent summers in Birmingham and Warfield, Virginia, with his grandparents, all teachers who helped guide him, according to Freeman, whose mother often memorized poetry with Eric. His maternal grandparents took him fishing.

In his grandmother’s eulogy, Eric spoke about his grandmother working to shape his character and dreams as they kneaded bread together, his small hands barely able to handle the dough.

Following in his mother’s and father’s footsteps, Eric went off to study at Hampton University. He spent three years there before moving to Atlanta, where he modeled, worked in clothing sales and attended Georgia State University.

He also became an addictions counselor for six years.

In 2018, he married Jennifer Gaines Hrabowski. They lived in Atlanta before later divorcing. His son, Elijah, was born during a previous relationship.

Alicia Wilson, a former UMBC student mentored by the Hrabowskis, remembers going to their house for the first time with a number of other scholarship students. She thought Eric was just another student. The story, she said, spoke to his humility and to his desire to see the numerous students that went through the Hrabowski household as potential friends.

Over the years, Wilson, now vice president for civic engagement and opportunity at the Johns Hopkins University, grew close to the family. “He embraced me as a friend, as a sister, as a confidante,” she said, adding that he never felt displaced by her or “the whole host of people who were also loved by his parents.”

Tall and handsome, Wilson said, Eric was always wearing a stylish hat, loved to dance and enjoyed being around people. If there was a gathering at his house, he was there, she said, but he never tried to be the center of attention. “He wasn’t a spotlight guy,” she said.

In the past several years, he had serious health issues, including a stroke and surgery to replace a heart valve, Freeman said.

Musgrove said he had last seen Eric several months ago, as he was trying to recover. His physical therapist had suggested he practice activities that strengthened his hand and eye coordination, and Eric was enjoying operating a remote-controlled car while talking to Musgrove.

“He was frail but hopeful,” Musgrove said. “He was hopeful that now that he had gotten past a very difficult open-heart surgery that he could get into better physical shape and be a better father to EJ,” Musgrove said.

Since Eric’s death, Freeman said, the family has tried to process their grief quietly with close friends and family.

A memorial service in Hilton Head, South Carolina, where the Hrabowskis have a house, will be held this summer. For now, Freeman will focus on the last day of Eric’s life.

“We had tears of joy as our son gave us the essence of our relationship over the last 30 years,” he said. “It was the most beautiful evening before the morning of passing, and it sustains us now.”

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