Erik Mikkelsen

Erik Mikkelsen was born Andrzej Zuckerwar, in Krakow, Poland, July 12, 1929 to Daniel Zuckerwar and Maria Holik. He was adopted by his paternal aunt, Helena Zuckerwar, and her husband, Ivar Mikkelsen, and became Andreas Erik Mikkelsen.

Erik had a large, loving family and shared his memories of spending time with his many aunts, uncles, and cousins. He was a proud resident of the city center of Warsaw, where he could walk to the homes of his aunts who doted on him. This extended family was torn apart by the German invasion of Poland and occupation of Warsaw, where some family members were forced into the Nazi-established Jewish ghetto and eventually Auschwitz. Over the years Erik recounted numerous memories of the war as a child from visiting family in the Jewish ghetto to sneaking into “Germans only” theaters.

Through his father Ivar’s connection to the Danish consulate, Erik and his family were lucky to flee to Copenhagen, Denmark in 1942 as the situation worsened in Poland. The end of the war in 1945 was a joyous occasion.

His Danish cousins and a beloved tutor helped him become fluent in Danish. He went to Gentofte Stats Skole, where his close-knit class of 1948 remained lifelong friends. Erik attended many reunions, including his 65th high school reunion in 2013. As a Danish citizen, he served his country in the army.

In 1954, he left Copenhagen to visit America on a six-month visa. He arrived via the MS Stockholm and first entered the country in New York. He came without a birth certificate and had to explain that most legal documents had been destroyed during his escape from the Nazi occupation of Poland.

He fell in love with the San Francisco Bay Area when visiting his beloved cousin Antoni (Tony) Oppenheim. He met Emily Leon Heldman at a boarding house in San Francisco. They married April 22,1955, and started their family, Leslie Kay Mikkelsen, and Jean (Jeannie) Dorothy Mikkelsen. Erik and Emily filed for divorce on April 19, 1966.

In 1962, Erik started his 43 year career at Foremost Dairies International, selling milk and ice cream around the world. Erik continually survived mergers and acquisitions, from Foremost McKesson, to McKesson Chemical, then Van Waters and Rogers, and finally retiring with Univar. This work involved traveling worldwide, taking the opportunity to use the four languages he spoke fluently, charming people with his warm smile and infectious laugh. He retired in 1995.

Erik’s work gave his family the opportunity to travel with him, visiting Australia, Asia, Europe, and South America.

In December 1966, Erik met Sally Burns at the San Francisco World Affairs Council. They quickly fell in love and he proposed via a phone call from Hong Kong. They married in Sausalito, California on July 22, 1967. Erik was proud to carry on the Mikkelsen name with a son, Andrew Erik Mikkelsen, and then three years later, a daughter named Marta Britt Mikkelsen.

Erik and Sally bought a home in San Francisco in 1969 and lived there until 1987, when they moved to Bellevue, Washington.

In 1998, Erik and Sally relocated to Sun Lakes, Arizona where they made countless friends and enjoyed the year-round sunshine. Erik had a very active retirement. He was a volunteer advisor to small business owners through SCORE (Senior Core of Retired Executives) and co-founder of a local initiative to oppose the expansion of a nearby airport.

Erik was a lively speaker who shared his survival experiences during World War II and the holocaust with local students, and his NAILS (New Adventures In Learning) short courses about the spread and opposition to Naziism in Europe. His presentations were well attended and were very popular in the Sun Lakes Community. In 1999, Erik was interviewed by the Shoah Foundation and can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN20R1BVOd8&t=847s

Erik and Sally moved closer to the family in 2014, first residing in Issaquah, Washington, before relocating to Olympia, Washington in 2022.

Erik is survived by his loving and dedicated wife Sally Burns Mikkelsen, children Leslie Mikkelsen (partner Larry Cohen), Jeannie Mikkelsen, Andrew Mikkelsen (Megan Mikkelsen), and Marta Burnet (Chris Burnet), grandchildren Michael Gerena, Cole Gerena, Lindsay Burnet, Susanna Mikkelsen, Kelsey Burnet, and Eliza Mikkelsen, and one great-grandchild, Blake Gerena.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Alzheimer's Association (alz.org).

We will be celebrating Erik’s life on January 11, 2025, from 1-4 p.m. at the Uptown Grill in Olympia, 514 Capitol Way South. If you plan on attending, please RSVP to [email protected]