Lawrence A Erickson

Lawrence Albert Erickson (Leif) was born October 5, 1940 in Bellingham, Washington to Einar Thorleif and Clara Ellen (Carlson) Erickson. At the age of 4 his family moved to Ballard, Washington, where he attended elementary and high school. He attended the University of Washington and was in the ROTC. After graduating, he joined the Air Force and was sent to Webb Air Force base in Big Spring, Texas where he trained airmen going to Viet Nam on the T38. He was later stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio and Tyndall AFB in Panama City, Florida, where he taught flight instructors. After leaving the military he joined Braniff International Airways in Dallas where he flew 727's until they closed in 1984. While at Braniff he was able to fly their private chartered jets and flew John Denver on his Salt Palace tour, The Beach Boys, Chicago and Paul and Linda McCartney on some of their tours. After Braniff closed, he went with Piedmont, then US Airways. He retired in 2000.

Lawrence's first wife, Catherine, passed away in 1994. They had two children, Gretchen and Erik. He married Lynn in 1996. They lived in Dallas until moving to Horseshoe Bay in 2012. In 2015 Lawrence went to work at ACE Hardware in Horseshoe Bay. Lawrence enjoyed building and flying model airplanes and was a member of the Highland Lake Flyers in Kingsland. He also enjoyed collecting and running model trains and was a member of the Lone Star Flyers model railroad club in Dallas. Throughout his life he amassed an extensive train collection and had a large train layout at his home in the historic district of Munger Place in Dallas.

Lawrence and Lynn took up ballroom dancing while living in Dallas and continued to enjoy both ballroom and country western dancing when they moved to Horseshoe Bay. You could often find them dancing at the yacht club on Friday nights.

Lawrence was a member of the Church at Horseshoe Bay and a member of the Faith Bridge Sunday school class.

He is survived by his son Erik, a Southwest pilot, who lives in Phoenix with his wife Aimee and her two children, Chase and Ella and his daughter Gretchen, a restaurant manager, in Jacksonville, Florida and her husband, Monte. He has two grandsons, Dylan and Sean and a great grandson, D.J. His stepson, Brian and his wife and three children,Charli, Ben and Bowen, live in Waxahachie, Texas. His brother, Bob, passed away in 2000.