Erin attended Forest Lakes Elementary School where she became an avid reader. Reading became a huge passion of hers. She also participated in numerous sports, like soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, taekwondo and swimming. She loved everything she did.
Erin had decided by 6th grade that she wanted to attend North Harford's Animal Science program and began volunteering at the Marshy Point Nature Center. She became a part of Bel AIr Middle Schools Engineering club and the National Junior Honor Society.
Erin was an excellent student who took school seriously. Learning was very important to her. In her spare time, which wasn't very much, she enjoyed watching the Discovery Channel, How It's Made and the History Channel. On March 1st, Erin was accepted into the Animal Science Magnet, we were at Roundtop skiing and Erin was ecstatic. She eagerly embraced North Harford and became a part of the drama program, the swim team and the lacrosse team. She also joined the FFA, the Thespian club and The NAtional Honor Society. Right before she was diagnosed with AML Leukemia, she was also becoming a member of the German Club.
On Novmeber 30th, Erin came home with a headache and felt awful. She spent that week attending school, and swam in the first high school swim meet of the season on Wednesday, but suffered from a headache off and on. By Friday, December 4th, we took Erin to patient first where they diagnosed her with a pulled muscle in the back. Saturday, Dec 5th she played goalie for Full Throttle Lacrosse. On Monday we went to the pediatricians and it seemed she had a sinus infection. Wedensday we returned to the pediatricians and now she had pneumonia. On Friday, the headache was still terrible and it seemed like nothing was helping, so we again went to the pediatricians. By Friday aftrenoon, ERin was eeing double, so I took her straight to the emergency room at Upper Chesapeake. Here is when the nightmare began. Upper Chesapeake asked me to pick Hopkins or Maryland, because they were pretty sure it was cancer.
Erin was feeling very sick by this time, so she was happy to know she was going to be taken care of. We took an ambulance ride to Hopkins and spent the night in the emergency room. Saturday, Erin was moved to the oncology floor where we thought we would begin fighting the cancer. On sunday, Erin got her hair cut and decided to give herself bangs for the first time in years. She looked so cute. Monday was the begining of her treatments and Erin was very nervous but hopeful she would be feeling better soon. Unfortunately, the first dose of chemo made her so sick she was sent to the PICU. One thing led to another and by Wednesday Erin was sedated and interbated. By Friday the doctors told us they only had one more thing to try, a lung bypass machine called the ECMO. Erin made it thru the surgery and appeared to be resting comfortably. Unfortunately, her platelet counts were not getting better and by Tuesday morning, December 22, she began to bleed in her brain.
In order to give Erin a peaceful passing from this world to the next, we transported her to her gramdmothers house where she died surrounded by family and friends who loved her.
Please share your stories with me. Over time my memory will start to slip, and I never want to foget . Thank you.
I really don't know where to begin with my stories of Erin. I have so many. My kids Erins cousins love Erin and have so many stories. My kids loved getting together with Erin. She was very busy with al of her activities so it was always extra special when they could hang out with Erin. The last few years at New Year's Eve we would spend the evening at their house. The girls love to play just dance. And Erin had some great dance moves. She always made us smile with her excitement and love of life!!!
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Where to start...when Erin was little she would love to walk around our house looking for toads, turtles, etc...We would hear some noise outside and knew it was Erin. Next thing we knew, there was a knock on the door with Erin pulling small critters out of her pocket ready to share all the wonderful things she had found. Our girls spent hours playing on playsets in our yards as well as sledding down the hills. Throughout scouting events the love of outdoors never stopped. She found a small toad that had died while at Camp Conowingo. Erin created a leaf bed for the toad then sent it off down the river to "send it off" to a better place. While creating a vegetable garden for the homeless, Erin was sharing how grubs were not good for the plants and showing the other girls how to squish them. On another camping trip we went canoeing. Erin was with Katrina in a canoe and wanted to know how deep the water was. She became very entertained by the mud at the bottom of the lake and was digging it up in heaps. Then out of nowhere her paddle dropped into the water-never to be seen again! All the girls that went still look back on this and laugh. At our last meeting the girls talked about their dreams. After doing her typical, loading her chocolate pudding with TONS of Cool Whip, Erin shared that her dream was to be Christine in Phantom of the Opera. Throughout the entire meeting she was singing songs from the musical. Great memories of a truly wonderful young lady.
PrintI met Erin and her mom Paula when Erin and my son Cody attended Forest Hill Nursery School when they were three and four years old. Their paths separated after that but merged again at North Harford High School. The preschool years can be turbulent as every parent knows, but I remember Erin as a joyful child. I have many pictures from FHNS and Erin is beaming in every one that includes her. Even though I didn't have close contact with her during her time at NHHS, it's obvious that she still
had her sunny personality. My heart breaks for Erin's family and I hope that everyone who knew Erin even briefly will add their memories here.
Happy 17th Birthday, Erin! I so wish you were here to celebrate your birthday with your family, but hope you and the other angels are laughing and sharing your wonderful stories in heaven! I talk to your mom daily and get to hear so many wonderful stories that I haven't heard before. I will never forget all the years you and Kaitlyn went through school, swim team and science fair projects! I loved hearing your stories when we got the chance to talk. You are a smart, beautiful, kind- hearted young lady and I will forever miss you!
PrintHappy birthday Erin!! You have no idea how many people are missing you and still thinking about you every day. I know you are probably having the time of your life up there right now!! You will never be forgotten. I love you pretty girl and you will be missed and loved forever. Happy birthday angel.
PrintOur best memories of times with Erin.... So hard to choose but a constant theme is summer, water and fun. One trip in particular stands out. My kids (Erin's cousins) got to spend time with the Drumm kids at Assateague. Every year they would ask if we could do it again. Recent snow left us snowbound at home and cleaning out closets and we found a picture story book Katelyn had written for school when she was probably 8. Pictures she drew of her time with her cousins finding ghost crabs and swimming in the ocean. Camping at Assateague with their grandparents. They played wiffle ball on the beach. Erin, my fellow scientist, always had something to teach us about the creatures she would find.
We live 2 hours away from their cousins so visits are never as frequent as we wish but the second they get together it is like they had never been apart. Out came Me Ma's silly hats and "treasure" hunts through the basement ensued. And Pop Pop's pool! Oh how much fun they have making raft forts and doing crazy things off the diving board! No matter how long they stayed at Me Ma and Pop Pop's house it was never enough. When Katelyn was 2-4 she would cry everytime they packed up the car! And eventually that changed into pleas from all sides for sleepovers. The boys to our house and the girls to theirs and an exchange arranged for the morning midway. Memories that will have to last a lifetime as they are now all we have. It still can't feel real. I pray for a day that the memories will fill the hole in our hearts that is left behind. We love you Erin! Happy Birthday! We hope you knew how special you were to us! Ryan (6) summed it up best when he said "she was always so nice to me." She was always so kind to everyone. We miss you so much.
Love,
Aunt Debby, Uncle Brendan, Katelyn, Cameron, Nicholas & Ryan
My favorite Erin memory - camping years ago with the Drumm family when our kids were little. We were taking a walk on a gravel path and Erin picked up some gravel and put it in her pants - I think it was her pants - and Paula saying "Erin! What are doing?" or "Why did you do that?" and Erin so calmly answering - "Cause I wanted to see what it felt like." Perfect answer Erin! I always told Paula that as a teacher, I am so thankful for the "angels" in my classroom - the students who do everything you ask them to do the way you asked for it to be done - they make teaching easy. Then there are students like Erin - who make teaching challenging and fun. Erin was so smart, in so many different ways, and she was able to think outside the box. I was completely in awe of Erin and her way of looking at the world. She will always hold a special place in my memories and in my heart.
PrintSince the auditions for Fiddler on the Roof during her freshman year of high school, I was privileged enough to have the joy of working with, teaching, and directing Erin in school musicals and drama class. Though she was my student, I learned way more from Erin than she may have ever learned from me, about courage, commitment, positivity, optimism and finding joy in all you do- on the stage, in the classroom and in life. Having been able to get to know and love her and admire all the wonderful qualities Erin had – her passion for theatre and the arts and learning, her intellect, her artistry, her love of reading, her constant enthusiasm and positivity even when things were hard or she was disappointed, her compassion and kindness to all, her bright smile and excitement for all she did, her dedication to all she did- has made me a better teacher and person and saying goodbye to her is incredibly hard.
Erin was an avid reader. She loved to talk books with me and was so perceptive at identifying complex themes and making connections. She read a book a day! And BIG books! And always brought her reading to class where we most recently talked about The Lord of The Rings and The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle! Erin was a poet. She wrote beautiful poetry and would often stop by in the morning to drop off her latest poem for me to read. She even performed her own poetry at the school art gala! Erin loved singing, music, and musical theatre and loved to talk musicals, too! Her favorite, of course, was Phantom of the Opera, and she asked me often when we were going to do Phantom at NHHS and would then break into her beautiful soprano and start singing the songs- hitting those HIGH notes perfectly! Erin was an artist. She made beautiful, original artwork that became the poster and program designs for all three musicals of which she was a part.
Erin was passionate and so excited to be a part of the fall musical every year. Her enthusiasm and excitement to be involved in a show was unmatched and her commitment to the ensemble and the production was unrivaled. I had never met a student more excited to be at rehearsals! She was in the first row at 2 o clock before anyone else for every rehearsal and she was completely dedicated to every show and every ensemble of which she was a part. She was always thinking of everyone else and always so grateful to be involved. She performed all of her roles with gusto- from Fiddler where she loved the stage make up for Tevye’s dream sequence in her role as a daughter -to Footloose the following year when she was so excited to be able to roller skate on stage as a waitress at Bob’s Burger Place. This year- as one of our strongest singers, Erin joined friends and cast mates and lent her beautiful singing voice to the demanding role of one of our nuns, working for months to sing the glorious Latin hymns that were part of the nuns’ music. Her role as The New Postulant was special, too. Like everything she did- she put all she had into her role, embraced it, and in the end- loved it. Her role as Postulant required her only to walk across the stage in her beautiful blue dress and without speaking a word- kneel, cross herself, and exit as her character decides to join the abbey and dedicate her life to God. It is very poignant moment in what was the best production our school has ever produced and that moment seems even more so now. The show was incredible. The ensemble ethic of the students was the best it's ever been. Erin was terrific – a leader of the ensemble ethic that gave the show its magic, and her voice was pure and clear singing Latin hymms in complicated harmonies with her fellow nuns. The show will always have a special place in my heart for all of these reasons, and I am glad that Erin’s final musical could be such a memorable and beautiful show that she loved being a part of. I had a brief moment with Erin, her father, and my own son who was keeping her dad busy as he supervised the nuns and Austrians backstage during intermission- and we all agreed that the show was amazing and we were all having such fun! Erin was so happy about all of it!! She was beaming! The last day I saw her she gave me her 2nd quarter outside event review paper which I still have and am looking at now. She wrote about her experience in Sound of Music. In Erin’s words:
“Everyone had so much fun on and off the stage. The ensemble was like a family- we had each other’s backs. Offstage everyone was just silly and goofy. It was so funny when the nuns started to sing old girl scout songs backstage! Overall, the performance was great, the audience loved it, and it was fun to be involved and behind the scenes…this past weekend was terrific and reminded me why I love musicals. It’s the people that make it great- every little role on and off stage.”
It makes me smile to know that her last musical was such a happy one for her and that some of the last memories I have of Erin are such happy, meaningful ones for both of us. On her last day of drama class, Erin presented a complex project on thematic connections in art and literature. The theme she chose was loyalty. She analyzed literature and art and included the perfect selections that illustrated her chosen theme, performed a monologue with a great southern accent, and then she AMAZED us all as she sang Christine from Phantom for our class. It was to be her last performance in drama. The class loved it, and we were all so impressed with the insight and hard work of her project and especially with her signing---that she could sing so beautifully and hit all of those incredible high notes. It was an inspired, beautiful performance- and I am so happy, too, that I will have that memory of Erin impressing everyone as Christine the last time I saw her.
Erin was a remarkable, talented, beautiful, smart, funny, brave, amazing young woman. I miss her every day, and I am so grateful for the brief time we had together and the many life lessons she taught me and the joyful memories we shared. She is greatly missed by me and by the many, many lives she touched. I am just one person of the many who will “think of her softly” now -and always.
I had the pleasure of teaching Erin last year in Trigonometry and this year in Pre-Calculus. She was usually one of the first to enter the classroom, frequently singing (Phantom of the Opera is what comes to mind). She had a killer seagull impression and would share with anyone who would listen her passion for turtles.
Last year, while being observed by my vice principal and department chair, I gave the class a challenging problem to solve. A couple of the students were able to answer the question and we went over their work as a class. Just as I was about to go on, Erin raises her hand and said, "I did it differently". Given the fact that I was sick and being observed I almost blew her off. Instead I decided, arrogantly, that I would hear her out and find some flaw in the way she attacked the problem.
Erin started to describe her thought process and as I wrote down the equation she had used to solve the problem, I remember thinking, "Son of a gun. This is going to work." Not only did it work, but it made more sense to the rest of the students than the way we had discussed earlier. When I gave the class an exit pass at the end of the period, nearly all of them chose to do the problem Erin's way.
Thank you, Erin, for sharing your time with us. You are missed.
I had the privilege of teaching Erin 6th grade social studies at Bel Air Middle School. Erin was an avid learner, eager to finish her work so she could look into other "realms" within my classroom. This is where she discovered National Geographic Magazine. In all my years of teaching, I have never seen a student devour material like Erin did with the magazines. She would become completely absorbed in the text and pictures, as though she was on the journey as well.She would often make comments to me afterward about some particular thing that struck her, or ask an expecially insightful question about something she read. In fact, the magazines really became her passion. I readily accepted new magazines from any teacher who offered them, and of course, Erin's parents now had to subscribe. I like to think now that Erin is in a perfect place to discover all of the many things that come to all of us through those pages. She was a vibrant young woman whose spirit will continue to light the lives of those who knew her. Dru Herbert
PrintHello, I did not personally know Erin. I purchased a used book for my children last week and received it in the mail today. I noticed the inside cover said In memory of Erin Kathrine Drumm. I decided to look up her name, which led me to this page. I wanted to share a story of what happened today before this book came.
I was driving with my children on a very busy highway. I then suddenly felt extremely ill. The pain was coming and going so I was trying to decide if I should pull over. I had a nagging feeling that I should and I should immediately put my car in park. As soon as I did that I blacked out. When I came home from the doctor hours later I opened the package for the book and looked up your beautiful daughter. It brought me to tears because it felt like a message from my niece that passed from lukemia in 2015. I'd like to think that maybe it was her that made me pull over. Thank you for sharing your daughters story and triggering precious memories of my niece.
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