Erin Michelle Martinelli

She was born at St. Mary’s Hospital in Reno, Nevada-the youngest of three children. She attended Brown Elementary, Pine Middle School, and graduated from Galena High School in 2002. She worked in the field of food and beverage, and she especially loved her job working the concessions at the Reno Aces baseball field serving her customers in the stands.

Erin was born with an amazing personality. She was always happy, always helping, always affectionate. She loved babies. She loved the elderly. She had great compassion for the handicapped. She had wanted to be a schoolteacher. She wanted to grow up and live next door to her parents. Through elementary school, she was part of a large group of friends. She was a cheerleader from the age of 8 through high school. Her great-grandmother used to say she was an “old soul."

The first 12 years of Erin’s life were amazing, healthy, normal. As for so many, middle school was a game changer. That is to be expected. Middle school is a tough time. Then came high school. We lost our Erin as we truly knew her. She experimented with and never recovered from meth, her drug of choice, among others. She spent the next 22 years fighting a battle she could not win.

As the lyrics go from the song "Scars in Heaven" by Casting Crows:

"The only scars in Heaven, they won't belong to me and you.

There'll be no such thing as broken, and all the old will be made new.

And the thought that makes me smile now, even as the tears fall down,

Is that the only scars in Heaven are on the hands that hold you now."

She loved life, she loved her family, above all she loved her son. She was amazingly warm, caring, loving, and compassionate. She had a beautiful soul.

Erin is survived by her son, Lucas Burns, age 11; parents, Greg and Becky Martinelli; grandparents, Elmo and Nancy Martinelli; brother, Jason Martinelli; sister, Carissa Backus (Gregg); niece, Karlee Backus; nephews Jaxon, Trevor, Mason, and Parker; as well as a large extended family.

A Celebration of Life will be held July 30th, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. at the home of her parents, 405 Cortono Drive, Reno. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Boys and Girls Club of Truckee Meadows in memory of Erin.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.neptunesociety.com/location/reno-cremation for the Martinelli family.