Erica “Ricky” Maestas December 19, 2002 - February 23, 2023

Erica “Ricky” Maestas, passed from this life into the next on February 23, 2023, due to a devastating mental illness. Erica was born on December 19, 2002, and grew up in the beautiful mountain community of Woodland Hills, Utah.

From her earliest days, she was sweet but sassy, spunky, and fun. That never changed as she grew up and went through her life. She simply became more hilarious and more kind as the years went by!

She attended Foothills Elementary School in Salem, Utah, and later Salem Junior High School. During those years, she especially loved collecting turtles and she participated in competitive gymnastics at the Nebo Gymnastics gym. As a teen, she attended Salem Hills High School and enjoyed her years there.

Competitive running became a passion for her, and she devoted so much of her heart and soul to the sport. At age 16, she competed in the Deseret News Marathon and placed first in the women’s 15-18 year old division with a time of 3:48. She also ran on the cross country and track teams at the high school. During her 2019 cross country season, she received the team’s “Coaches Award” and in 2021 she was given the “Unity Award”. In 2021, she was selected as Salem Hills High School’s “Most Inspirational Athlete”. That year, as a Senior, she was also chosen by her classmates to be Prom Queen which was a special honor. She received the Utah PTA’s Region 10 Reflections “Award of Excellence” for her poetry submission under the theme, “I Matter Because…”. She finished high school with a 3.9 GPA and was also a seminary graduate.

When it came time to go to college, she selected Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado, as her dream school. She was so excited to be signed by the college to compete on their cross country and track teams. During her sophomore year in 2022, she competed in all five of the Mavs’ full team meets and was amongst the top five on the team in each. She placed 12th at both the Mountaineer/Cowboy Invite and Gig Leadbetter Maverick Stampede to begin the season. She set a 5K career-best time of 19:02 at the latter, as the Mavs’ third finisher. She was also the team’s third finisher at the NCAA D2 Pre-Nationals Meet, where she finished 96th with a career-best 6K time of 23:10. She was able to receive the “Academic Achievement” scholarship at CMU and initially majored in Radiologic Sciences. She later changed her major to Social Work and was hoping to someday pursue a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy.

Erica became a successful business owner at a young age and made beautiful and unique jewelry. Her Etsy shop “Newport Avenue” spotlighted her creations and many people loved what she made. She especially loved the sun, moon, and stars. We are so grateful to have many of the pieces she made that we can enjoy in remembrance of her for years to come. Ricky loved fashion! She loved clothes and let’s just say she had MANY! From Crocs to bucket hats, she had a creative and fun-loving style. The thrift store was her happy place where she found many of her clothes, and she was well known for her ability to pull off any outfit. Of course, there was always an abundance of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, most of which she made, to bring it all together.

Most important in her life was her family. Her father, Samuel Eric Maestas, loved her fiercely and was an amazing dad to Erica. She worked at learning Spanish, and they were planning to take a trip together to Spain. Her mother, Linda Michelle Maestas, also loved her dearly and enjoyed the triathlon they did together over the summer. Her twin siblings, Samuel Phillip Maestas (“Chungi”) and Alayna Kymberly Maestas (“Nina”), as she called them, looked up to her and loved her so much. She was a wonderful example to them and continues to love them deeply, and she always will. She also adored her cats, Stella and Alli (“Bob”), and often asked us to send her pictures of them while she was in college. In addition to her parents and siblings, she was also special to her Grandparents, Samuel Maestas and Juanita Clement, of Colorado, and Alton and Bonnie Vernon, of Utah, plus many aunts, uncles, and cousins.

We’re extremely grateful for the many coaches and teachers, family members, and friends that selflessly gave so much to Erica over the years. There are too many to name, but we will love you forever because of how much you loved and gave to her. She especially loved her many close friends but was also constantly reaching out to anyone who needed a laugh, support, or inspiration to carry on.

Though her last few months were filled with extreme difficulty, this did not define her, and we celebrate the wonderful life she had and the amazing person she was and is, as she lives on, although in a different place and in a different way!

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are comforted, and so grateful that even in this deep and unimaginable grief, we will surely see her again, and through the Savior, Jesus Christ, and the sacred covenants made in the temple, we will be a family again, united for eternity. We will hold on to that hope in the difficult days ahead.

The greatest way to remember Erica is for all of us to Love Like Ricky!! Notice those who are alone! Reach out and lend a hand! Love everyone!

In her honor and in remembrance of her, we would ask that anyone who is struggling reach out for help. We know how hard that is to do, as Ricky herself struggled to do that.

She was the brightest of souls, a joy, and a light to all around her. Everyone felt that from her. If Erica was struggling so deeply with mental illness, seeming so happy and carefree – anyone in this world can.

Please speak boldly and often of mental health and let the stigma be gone. Choose to STAY! Run on, Ricky!!! We love you!! You’ll never be forgotten!!

Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Text or Dial 988. Help is available 24 hours a day.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2023, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Stake Center, 555 West 11200 South, Woodland Hills/Salem, Utah. Visitation will be prior from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the church. There will also be visitation on Friday, March 3, 2023, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the church.

Erica’s 2020-2021 Utah PTA Region 10 Reflections poetry submission under the theme, “I Matter Because…”

The Three Groups of Matter

Sitting in science class 
Liquid, solid 
or a gas
Matter is everything
It’s a tulip, a cat, a scratchy door mat
And remember, it is always one of three things 
There cannot be any in between,
It’s a Liquid, Solid 
Or a Gas 
But somehow, it’s also my younger brother’s laugh, 
the way it fills the room, 
And takes away all my gloom 
So, then I want to ask…
Are there protons in a song?
A little girl whose words ring out strong
Who gives me hope that I will prevail
When it feels like the world only wants me to fail
I am matter
So are you
But do 
I matter?
And do you? 
So… I’ll say there is another category
Not found in your science books that you sometimes call boring
It’s a collection of feelings
Owned by Everyone in the world, 
It’s all of our experiences 
Preserved
I am matter, but I matter.
Here’s why
Because I’ll send a smile to anyone who needs a friend
I’ll use my voice to help and defend
You matter too because Without one soul, the group is like an unbalanced atom, out of control
That’s why this earth really needs me and 
You too
3 groups
Solid
Liquid 
Or a gas
But Trust me, we are more than that