Allan Erickson

Allan Charles Erickson was born on May 16, 1935 at home on a farm outside of Kindred, North Dakota joining his older brother Curtis. His father, Theodore Erickson, was a farmer and his mother, Esther (née Anderson), was a teacher. He attended Richland Country School and Kindred High School and then received a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Administration from New York University, after completing his first two years at North Dakota State University. Thirty years after his high school graduation, he returned to deliver a commencement address entitled “You’ve got to believe” for the class of 1985, a theme that exemplified Allan’s approach to excelling in life throughout his 89 years. Even his initials spelled A.C.E.

Allan dedicated his life and career to the fight against disease starting with polio as State Director of the National Foundation for Polio Control and then focusing on cancer, achieving 35 years with the American Cancer Society (ACS) before starting his own non-profit consultancy, Erickson & Associates, with his wife Judy.

During his tenure with ACS, Allan started as a Field Representative for the Minnesota Division before being promoted to State Program Director for the Indiana Division in Indianapolis. He was then promoted to National Director for Employee Education at the ACS Headquarters in New York City, followed by a promotion to National Vice President of Public Education for Cancer Prevention and Tobacco Control. Allan was selected to staff and manage the first National Dialogue on Cancer (NDC), co-chaired by President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush with vice chair Dianne Feinstein. Through Erickson & Associates, he served as a consultant to the International Union Against Cancer based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Latin American Coordinating Committee for Tobacco Control and the National Cancer Institute in Baltimore, MD.

Allan set high standards for himself throughout his life and continuously set his own bar higher and higher — from excelling at baseball and basketball at Kindred High School, to running the New York and Boston marathons, rising to the top of his field in global tobacco control particularly impacting youth populations from Cuba to Russia, and receiving a “Distinguished Leadership Award for the Advancement of Cancer Prevention in the U.S.” from President George H. W. Bush. He would tell the story of how “the most beautiful woman he had ever seen” walked by him one day as he was returning to the office from lunch and he set his sights higher than just a dinner date — he wanted to marry her one day. He and Judy were married for 29 years until his death.

Allan also encouraged others to feel proud of their accomplishments, humbly stating that “everyone saves lives in their own way” when receiving praise for his efforts to help save millions of lives from the impact of tobacco around the world. Through his global profession, he visited 92 countries but still maintained a bucket list of travel destinations up to the last few months of his life. There was always more to do and more amazing things to see.

Allan is survived by his wife Judy Hill Erickson, daughter Lesley Iverson (Greg), son Jeffrey Erickson, son David Disbrow, step daughter Shannon Hunter (Kevin), step daughter Melanie Hill, granddaughters Sissel Erickson, Madeleine Erickson, Lena Erickson, Eloise Erickson, Olivia Giles (Paul), Sofi Iverson (Travis) and Sarah Kate Hunter, grandson Joseph Hunter, great granddaughters Josie Giles and Elena Giles, and great grandsons Adrian Iverson and Gray Melchert.

A memorial service will be held at 2pm on Thursday, February 13 at H.M. Patterson & Son Oglethorpe Hill Chapel in Atlanta, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the cancer prevention organization of your choice to continue Allan’s lifelong goal of a healthier world.