Erika K. Spransy

Erika K. Spransy, 19 of Waterloo, passed away on Monday, March 13, 2023 at UW Hospital of Madison.

Erika was born on September 25, 2003, in Balvi, Latvia, the birth daughter of Tatjana Lazdina.  She was adopted by Daniel and Beth (Riemer) Spransy in 2017 and came to her new home in Wisconsin. 

Erika was above all a lover of life. She wanted the world to be a kinder place than she often found it was, and gave herself to making it that way. She deeply cared for those around her, looking to nurture and give to them however she could. She made friends wherever she went. She was untiring in pursuing her dreams, although they were cut short. She had faith that God was with her until the end, and never stopped praying, talking about or believing that she could live and be healed. She was tender, sassy, and a fighter for what she believed in. She wasn’t afraid to give us - the people she loved - a hard time about things she thought we shouldn’t do, and tell us exactly what she thought. She was beautiful, deeply and wholly beautiful. She kept her chin up, facing impossible odds many times over, and never - not once - giving up. We were so very lucky to have Erika in our lives and our family, although we wish we had had so much longer. It was just too short. She gave us, and taught us all many things, and she will be missed in ways we can’t describe.

She is survived by: her grandparents Donald and Esther Riemer of Madison and Matthew and Siv Spransy of Oconomowoc; her birth mother Tatjana Lazdina of Latvia; parents Daniel and Beth Spransy of Waterloo; siblings Esther, Virginia, Ingrid, Magnus, and Simone Spransy all of Waterloo; aunts and uncles Linnea (Alex) Neuss of Los Angeles, CA, Anja (Chuck) Nardi of Madison, Emma (Michael) Leeson of Madison, Max (Tierney) Spransy of Los Angeles, CA, Leah (Doug) Wells of Elkhorn, Greg (Sarah) Riemer of Shawano, Eric (Angela) Riemer of Waukesha, Heidi (Steve) Rickard of Detroit, MI, and Noah (Michaela) Riemer of Madison; and 25 very loved cousins.  Erika is also survived by other relatives and friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to consider contributing to Before16.org in Erika’s honor.  With every $2000 raised,  an orphan’s chance of adoption goes from 1% to 70% - a staggering and encouraging statistic of hope!

The family would greatly treasure any memories you have with Erika which may be read at her celebration of life. Please email your memories and photos to erikakrystlespransy@gmail.com

A celebration of life will be held at 2:00PM on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at Doxa Church of Madison (2700 Novation Pkwy, Madison, WI 53713).  Visitation will be on Saturday from 12:00PM until the time of service at the church.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Erika K. Spransy, please visit our floral store.