Brigadier Gunnar L.
Erickson,
101, of Grand Marais, was “Promoted to Glory” on Sunday, September 26, 2010, in Duluth from complications following surgery.
Born November 13, 1908, in Alabo, Smaland, Sweden; the son of Sven Johan and Josephina Marie (Danielson) Eriksson. After compulsory education, he logged and worked the farm with his father before emigrating to America in 1928.
Working in Evanston, IL, Gunnar met the Salvation Army and was immediately attracted to the joy of this ministry. He was commissioned as a lieutenant upon graduation from the College for Officer Training in Chicago in 1934 and sent to Superior, WI.
He married fellow officer and the love of his life, Esther Erickson in 1937. Together they served with distinction in Marinette, WI, Duluth and St. Paul, and Chicago, Moline, and Rockford, IL. Gunnar was a gifted speaker and a man of integrity and compassion. While serving in Rockford, he was the voice for the Swedish Radio Broadcast, which continues to this day.
In 2007 he was awarded the Salvation Army Distinguished Award, the highest recognition given by the Salvation Army in the United States, for his service both as an active officer and in retirement, as an evangelist in the Pacific Northwest, South America, and the Caribbean Islands, especially Haiti where he spent five winters.
In 2010 Gunnar and Esther were honored as “Heroes of the Faith” for their extraordinary careers as Corps Officers (pastors) in Illinois.
An avid outdoorsman, in retirement Gunnar lived half the year at his cabin on the North Shore of Lake Superior and wintered in Rockford. Most of all, he was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. For the past five years he has lived in Grand Marais, enjoying the deer in his yard and swimming each morning at the municipal pool.
Living to 101, he told his friends he never expected to live to be a “gamla gubbe.”
He is survived by his wife, Esther; daughter, Miriam (Richard) Horen of Grand Marais; son, John (Dawn) Erickson of Rockford; grandchildren, Bryant (Karen) Erickson, Michael (Jisun) Erickson, and Matthew Erickson, Joanna (Michael) Lamm all of Rockford, Jennifer (Joseph) Gould of Tabernash, Colo., and Julie Horen of Thornton, Colo.; great-grandchildren, Alexandra and Kaitlynn Erickson, Bradley, Brianna, and Benjamin Gould, and Khrystian and Kai Blazier; brother, Arvid (Vivon) Ericsson and nieces and nephews in Sweden; sister-in –law, Vivian Fjellman; nephews, Steven (Lynette) and Jonathan (Linda) Fjellman; and great-nieces and –nephews in Minnesota. Predeceased by sisters, Axia (Helge) Svensson and Astrid Ericsson; brothers, Erik (Margot) and Holger (Elsa) Ericsson; and daughter-inlaw, Nancy (John) Erickson.
Funeral services were held Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, in Salvation Army Rockford Temple Corps, 500 S. Rockford Ave. Burial in Glen Oaks Cemetery, Hillside.
Family prefers memorials to Gunnar Erickson Memorial Fund for Haiti, c/o The Salvation Army Rockford Temple Corps.
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