April 28, 1918 - January 8, 2015

 

John Erickson
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John M. Erickson, 96, formerly of St. Cloud, died January 8, 2015 in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.

Memorial services will be Friday, July 10, 2015 at 2:00 PM at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, St. Cloud, MN. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church on Friday. Interment will be in the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Columbarium, St. Cloud, MN. Funeral arrangements were made by Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud, MN.

John Morris Erickson was born April 28, 1918, to Alfred and Laura (Geary) Erickson in Curtiss, Wisconsin. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1940, where he majored in chemical engineering. John worked as a chemical engineer for Proctor and Gamble in Chicago until 1943 when he applied for a commission in the Navy. He was commissioned as an Ensign and was assigned to the USS Neshoba. After WWII he continued in the naval reserve until 1954.

John was married to Helen Lorentson on June 26, 1948, at Zion Lutheran Church in Woodville, WI. He and Helen lived in Brookings where he taught Math and Chemistry at SDSU while getting his Master’s degree. He completed his PhD at Iowa State and returned to SDSU to teach for four years before taking a position as a chemistry professor at St. Cloud State University in 1960. John enjoyed his teaching career and retired in 1982.

John was a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church, where he was active in the choir, for over 40 years. He was also a member of the Sons of Norway Trollheim Lodge, Phi Eta Sigma, Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Lamba Upsilon, and Sigma Phi Sigma.

John enjoyed sports, hunting, camping, traveling, and is best remembered for his love of fishing, which he did as often as he could. John was a devoted father and husband. He was the consummate family man and especially enjoyed with his family summer travels on a shoestring budget and trips to their cabin on Scooty Lake. His mantra of “just one more cast” is never to be forgotten!

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Helen; his daughters, Jan (Brian) Bensen of St. Cloud, Deborah (Mark) Fisher of Dalton Gardens, ID, Nancy Erickson of Minnetonka, MN and Sandy (Peter) Johnson of Post Falls, ID; 7 grandchildren and 2 great-grandsons.

Memorials preferred to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Choir.

 

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