Joyce Crider bent down, taking the star-shaped wreath adorned with yellow and white flowers she held in her hands and placing it on a small, metal easel.
Flanked by her husband, Bill, she stood quietly for a moment pressing her fingers to her lips. She then stretched out her arm, pressing the kiss she held in her hand against a framed picture of her daughter, Erin, wearing her Navy dress uniform.
It was a simple, quick moment, but one that meant the world to the former Wyomissing woman. It was a chance to say goodbye, and thank you.
Erin, a 2002 Wyomissing High School graduate and Navy lieutenant, was killed in a non-combat accident in January while deployed in eastern Africa.
On Monday — in a ceremony delayed two days due to rain — she was honored posthumously as the grand marshal of the Wyomissing Memorial Day Parade and Remembrance Ceremony. Her parents, Berks County natives who now live in North Carolina, attended the ceremony, with Joyce laying the Gold Star Family wreath in honor of those who have had family members pass away while serving.
Joyce Crider lays a wreath in honor of her late daughter, Erin, during a Memorial Day ceremony on Monday in Wyomissing Hills. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE)
Joyce was also given a retired, folded American flag in honor of her daughter. It was presented to her by Jay Ostrich, director of Berks County Veterans Affairs, who also shared remarks about Erin and others who have given their lives in service to their country.
Ostrich told the crowd gathered at Wyomissing Hills Memorial Park that, after graduating from Wyomissing, Erin headed off to study engineering at Penn State. She later earned a master’s degrees in engineering management and mechanical engineering.
She used what she learned to serve her country, working in a civilian capacity at several naval bases, the U.S. Department of State, the White House and, most recently, as director of facilities at the National Defense University.
In 2022, Erin graduated from the U.S. Navy Officer School as a reserve civil engineering corps officer. She later served as officer-in-charge for the Naval Construction Forces’ Innovative Readiness Training Program, helping provide real-world training for military personnel while addressing critical infrastructure needs in underserved communities.
“No doubt, Erin had a big, big brain,” Ostrich said. “And our military and our nation benefited greatly from that big brain as she worked on many classified missions over the years, including working at the White House.”
But, Ostrich said, Erin was not only intelligent.
“But that paled in comparison to the absolute gigantic heart that Erin had,” he said. “She had a generous heart and was a tremendous humanitarian.”
Jay Ostrich, director of Berks County Veterans Affairs, speaks during a Memorial Day ceremony in Wyomissing Hills Monday. (KAREN SHUEY – READING EAGLE)
Ostrich reminded those at the ceremony that all Americans need to ensure that Erin and the other 1.1 million Americans who have given the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country did not die in vain by making sure we are taking care of those who served alongside them.
“We need help in our veterans community,” he said. “While we honor those who gave that last full measure of devotion today, we collectively ignore the carnage of service members who have carried those wars back home with them.”
Ostrich said that since 2001, 150,000 service members have been lost to the silent war of suicide. That number represents the combined losses of U.S. troops in World War I, the Korean War and Vietnam War.
He said the crisis can be seen in our own backyard.
While only 4.5% of Berks residents are veterans, he said that they made up 26% of all suicides in 2025.
“That’s unconscionable,” he said. “Even though we have offered solutions in the form of the legislation in Harrisburg and Washington, nothing more than political division and special interests remain. And bills that could truly help those suffering with mental illness are stuck at the speaker’s desk waiting to be read.”
Ostrich said we must insist on leaders who devote their service not to division but to uniting our nation in humanity.
“That was the spirit of the great Americans who built this nation and that was Erin’s spirit,” he said.