Erin Wagman, also known as Erin Borgmann, died of acute alcohol poisoning on October 19, 2013 in Rapid City. She was 42 years old. She died alone. Erin was born on January 15, 1971 in Rapid City. For her new, 18-year-old mother, she was a handfulprecocious, bossy, crankyand unusually independent for a tyke who still wore diapers. She attended Rapid City schools, where her favorite classes were Art and Music. Her favorite place was her grandparents' ranch, out in the paddock where her grandmother taught her horseback riding. She loved grooming and could turn a burr-snarled mare's tail into a salon-worthy coif like a pro. Erin loved Duran-Duran, double denim, andafter a hellish time learning how to drive a stickher crummy little first car, a tiny white two door named "Shoe." In spite of her rocky "wild child" adolescence, Erin graduated from Stevens High School in 1989, then went on to earn an MFA in Studio Art from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She then attended Eastern Virginia Medical School, where she was granted an MS in Art Therapy. She became a Licensed Clinical Therapist in Denver, where the steep Rocky Mountains and a crush on Lance Armstrong turned her into a devoted cyclist. She joked that her bike was worth more money than her car and for years, used the power of her own legs to commute 20 miles to and from work. Surely Erin's descent into alcoholism happened incrementally, but most of us witnessed just the four final years, the point at which she had fallen so deep that she couldn't be reached. Like that independent toddler, Erin did alcoholism her way, and along the pathtragedy after tragedy and crisis after crisisher strength never wavered. She was an optimistic drunk, a drunk with hopes and dreams, a drunk that was going to make it. She hoped someday to write a book about her recovery. Erin is survived by her son Charlie Borgmann, age 9, of Westminster, CO; by her sister Rachel Bredemus, her crazy dog Hope, and her parents Bruce and Deborah Wagman, all of Lawrence, KS; as well as her grandfather Mick Vickers of Rapid City. She will also be loved and missed by her friend Lawton Thompson of Tulsa OK. With heartfelt gratitude, the family thanks all of those who cared for, counseled and even incarcerated Erin during her journey. Erin's memorial service will be held at 1:30 pm on Friday, October 25 at Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home, 2700 Jackson Boulevard in Rapid City, with Fr. Brian Lane officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Pennington County Humane Society.