John Erickson

Just four days shy of his 71st birthday, John passed away suddenly on Saturday after a long and defiant battle against heart disease. In a struggle lasting 40 years, John refused to allow his affliction to slow him down. He lived life to the fullest and blessed each of us along the way with his gifts of generosity, kindness and love. Truly, John was larger than life.

John was born in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, to Harold and Margaret Erickson and moved to Billings, Montana, at age 10. He graduated from Billings West High School and Eastern Montana University. He married Suzanne Redmon on September 4, 1965, and they had son Robert and daughter Tiffany. After 15 years of marriage, they divorced. On March 26, 1983, John married Lea Ella Sims Webb and added Nicholas, Janet, and Amy to his family.

John had a big voice, an enormous heart, and a huge intensity for life. As a child, he was always chosen to speak at church programs because he had the loudest voice. From childhood to adulthood, it was his job to recite the nativity story from the book of Luke on Christmas Eve. He sang at church, at weddings, at funerals, in choirs, in praise bands, and at home, and he was preparing to record a CD as a gift for friends and family. His house was always open to friends, colleagues, students and family with an abundance of food, energetic conversation, and karaoke at the ready. He laughed loudly, sang brightly, read voraciously, and argued passionately. From religion, to politics, to the Utah Jazz or to Utah by 5—ever the raconteur, with a smile and a twinkle in his eye—John always spun a lively yarn.

The great joys of his life were family, friends, music, church, and traveling. He actively participated in church leadership, attending the inaugural church-wide assemblies of both the American Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. During the 15 years that he served as Assistant to the Pastor at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, he arranged and presided of over a memorial service for children who were killed in a terrorist attack in Omagh, Ireland, youth whom he knew from an exchange program. Baptizing his grandchildren was the highlight of his service to the church.

He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Lea Ella Erickson, and children Robert (and wife Megan) Erickson, and Tiffany (and husband Tracy) Cloud, and his step-children Nicholas (and wife Julie) Webb, Janet (and husband Todd) Miesel, and Amy (and husband Tom) Riffe. John was proud of his family and recently reminisced about pinning Robb’s eagles on his shoulders when he became an Air Force colonel, seeing a play in New York that was written by Nick, watching Lea place Jan’s doctoral hood, attending Amy’s graduation from Wichita State, and watching Tiffany blossom in her career as an occupational therapist. He reveled in every minute with grandchildren Tyler, Jackson, Margaret, Ravyn, Sam, Charlie, Drake, John William, Ella, Kane, and Kyra.

A service of remembrance and celebration will be held at 4:00 on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church at 2500 East 3900 South, Salt Lake City, UT. Friends may visit the family at the church at 3:00 and are invited to share a light meal afterwards. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the John Erickson Memorial Fund at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church. Full obituary and online guestbook is available at www.evans-earlymortuary.com.