Eric was born into a military family. He enlisted into the Marines a few days after high school. He proudly served for 12 years, during which time he served 6 deployments overseas to Iraq and Afghanistan. Eric is survived by his father, Allen Rader; sister, Rebecca McHenry; brother, Jason Rader, and his children, Stephen and Norah Rader.

Eric was a proud veteran and was heavily involved in local chapters helping other veterans. He loves to participate in the local Ruck 'N' Run events, enjoyed a good beer, and was generally just fun to be around.