Erickson, Vera Mae ("Cally"), Mrs. Howard W., 1909-2005

ERICKSON, CALHOUN, SARGENT

Posted By: Lydia Lucas-Volunteer (email)
Date: 10/6/2011 at 19:31:31

Vera "Cally" Erickson, Oct. 20, 1909-July 13, 2005

ORANGE CITY--Vera Mae "Cally" Erickson, 95, Orange City, died Wednesday, July 13, at Orange City Hosepital Long-Term Care Facility.

Services will be at 2 p.m. Monday, July 18, at Dover Avenue Alliance Church in Orange City, with the Rev. Jeffrey Keady and C. Orville Kool officiating. Burial will be later at Wild Rose Union Cemetery in Wild Rose, WI, under the direction of Oolman Funeral Home in Orange City. A time of visitation will immediately follow the memorial services at the church.

Cally Erickson, daughter of David Mason and Margaret Eva (Sargent) Calhoun, was born Oct. 20, 1909, in Egg Harbor, WI.

She married Howard Woodward Erickson on June 3, 1931, in Randolph, WI. They first made their home in Wild Rose, where she was a homemaker. Following World War II, they were appointed as missionaries by the Conservative Baptist Mission Society.

They moved to the Philippines in 1950, and a few years later they went to Panama. They were involved in Christian radio broadcasts. She produced women's programming in English and was active in women's Bible studies in the communities where they lived.

After 13 years in Panama, they were called to Honduras, where together they founded HRVC, a Christian radio station. They retired to Wisconsin in 1974, eventually settling in Oshkosh. They moved to Orange City in 1993 to be near their daughter and her family. They moved to Landsmeer Ridge Retirement Community in Orange City in 2000. They transferred to Orange City Hospital Long-Term Care Facility in October of 2002.

She enjoyed Bible studies and spending time outdoors. She was faithful in correspondence with family and friends she met on the mission field. She was an encourager and a mentor to many young Christian women.

Survivors include her husband, Howard Woodward Erickson of Orange City; a daughter, Lois and William Herzog of Orange City; three grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by a sister and three brothers.

Memorials may be directed to the family for various Christian broadcast ministries.

Source: Northwest Iowa Review, July 16, 2005. The obituary includes a photograph.
A nearly identical obituary was published in the Sioux Center News, July 20, 2005.