Family of 17-year-old boy who drowned says he’s watching over them

Sister Casey Erlanson says John is ‘kind of a rock of love for our family’

By P. Kim Bui

John Erlanson

• Atascadero High School: District is mum on pool policies

Does the recent drowning at Atascadero High School change your mind about letting your child swim at school?

Yes. I will no longer allow my child to swim at school. I'm going to make sure there's a lifeguard on duty first - not just a teacher No. This seems like an isolated incident. My child doesn't swim at school now.

Your vote has been counted, thank you for voting.

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES

Items for a memory book of John Erlanson are being collected by friends and family. Please send any pictures, stories or memories of John to rememberingjohn erlanson@gmail.com .

Casey Erlanson speaks about her brother, John, in the present tense, although he died Wednesday. To the Erlanson family, John is here and doing what he always did — watching over them.

“He’s just our family’s angel. He was when he was here, and he is now,” said Casey Erlanson, 24.

Atascadero High School junior John Erlanson, 17, was playing a game in the school’s swimming pool with the rest of his P. E. class about 10:30 a. m. Wednesday when he slipped under-

water for unknown reasons.

He was found unconscious and not breathing at the bottom of the pool. School staff performed CPR on him but he died later at Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton.

John had a medical condition, his sister said; she did not elaborate. He was recently at UC San Francisco to check his medication and condition, she said.

Casey, the oldest of three sisters, said John was kind and artistic.

“He’s kind of a rock of love for our family,” she said. “He didn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

John was the youngest of four and the only male. He grew up in Atascadero and loved the Central Coast. He planned to go to Cuesta College and transfer to Cal Poly, his sister said. He wanted to study video game design or maybe teaching.

He spent hours playing “Halo 3” or “Super Smash Bros.” with his friends, often volunteering his Xbox 360 so they could have tournaments, his sister said.

When he wasn’t playing video games, John was drawing and writing in one of his many notebooks, dreaming up video game concepts or creating comic strips involving Zelda characters or the classic Marvel superheroes.

Casey said she is not angry with Atascadero High School for her brother’s death but said the school should re-evaluate its policy and place a full-time lifeguard on duty.

The students and teachers who worked to revive her brother tried to help, she said.

“There is no doubt in my mind that they did everything they could,” she said. “I don’t want them to feel guilty or blame.”

The family is very close, Casey said. She had last seen her brother two weeks ago when she came up from Los Angeles to visit.

The three Erlanson sisters Casey, Sarah, 21, and April, 19 — live together in Los Angeles. John would rush outside when they came to visit, she said. But on Wednesday, the driveway was empty. She said she half expected to see her brother rush through the door and give her a hug.

“It’s the first time I came home and everybody’s been inside,” she said.

A memorial service is being planned for next weekend. But, Casey said, it will be a celebration of John’s life — no black clothing allowed.

“He wouldn’t want anyone to be sad.”