Jul. 3—FAIRMONT — The woman who apparently drowned last week in the Tygart Valley River near Colfax played an instrumental role in West Virginia University’s technology infrastructure.
Erin Weikle Bunner, 48, a WVU information technology administrator, was pulled from the river June 26 by people on shore who reported seeing her in distress.
Marion County Sheriff Roger Cunningham said Wednesday a medical emergency may have contributed to the Fairmont woman’s death, and no foul play was suspected.
Colleagues praised Bunner, who directed teaching and learning applications for the university’s Information Technology Services division, for her prowess in her job — and for the caring nature she always showed to co-workers, they said.
“She cared deeply about her staff and colleagues, often checking in on them in times of stress and always offering encouragement, ” said Brice Knotts, WVU associate vice president and chief information officer.
Bunner joined WVU in 2006 as a professional technologist at the Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center and helped develop and administer learning management systems there as she worked her way up the job ranks.
“Erin was passionate about delivering excellent customer service to faculty, staff and students, ” Knotts continued, “but most of all, she was a devoted and engaged mom who was at the center of her daughters’ lives.”
Bunner, whose survivors include her husband, Brent, and daughters, Gibson and Hollan, was a Fairmont native who earned degrees in graphics and commercial design from Fairmont State University before going on to study multimedia technology at Duquesne University.
She is also survived by her parents, Mary and Danny Weikle of Fairmont.
At East Fairmont High School, she was a member of her alma mater’s 1993 state championship cheerleading squad.
“It surprised none of us to learn she was a high school cheerleader, ” Knotts said. “Her smile and personality were genuine and infectious.”
Her family will receive friends from 1 p.m. to the time of her 6 p.m. memorial service Monday at Ford Funeral Home, Ford Chapel, 201 Columbia St., Fairmont, with the Rev. Peggy Scharff Petrich officiating.
Her burial will follow at a later date at Woodlawn Cemetery in Fairmont.