Erickson, Roger Leonard 1937 - 2019

ERICKSON, YOUNG, HARKNESS, LOPEZ-GARCIA, BJERKE, HOVEY

Posted By: Norman Hjelmeland (email)
Date: 5/19/2024 at 21:00:43

Roger Leonard Erickson, 82, of Grinnell and formerly of Marion, died on October 30, 2019, at St. Francis Manor in Grinnell.

A memorial service has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Saturday, November 2nd, at the Smith Funeral Home in Grinnell with Rev. Len Garrison, Malcom United Methodist Church, officiating. A reception will follow at the funeral home.

Source: Smith Funeral Home, Grinnell, IA

Memorials may be designated to St. Francis Manor Seeland Park.

Roger was born on October 2, 1937, at the family home in Locust, Iowa, near Decorah, the son of Earl Leonard and Lenna Evelyn Young Erickson. He grew up in the Decorah area and was a 1956 graduate of Mabel, Minnesota High School. He later attended a vocational school for drafting in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.

On October 24, 1958, he was united in marriage with Elaine Marie Harkness, at the United Methodist Church in Mabel; a union of 61 years! The couple lived in the Decorah area before moving to Marion in 1962. Roger was employed as a mechanical draftsman at Rockwell-Collins in Cedar Rapids. He retired from there in 1995, after 33 years of employment. In September of 2015, they moved to Seeland Park in Grinnell.

Roger loved sharing his time with his family. He was an avid reader, enjoyed going on walks, and was a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes. He was a member of the United Methodist Church in Mabel and Marion.

Survivors include his wife, Elaine of Grinnell; his son and daughter-in-law, Mark and Karen Erickson of Kellogg; three grandchildren, Nicole Lopez-Garcia, Mathew and Chase Erickson, all of Kellogg; one great-granddaughter, Emma Lopez-Garcia of Kellogg; and one sister, Marlys Bjerke of Spring Grove, Minnesota. He was preceded in death by his parents; his father and mother-in-law, Wayne and Ella Harkness; one sister, Lois Hovey; and two brothers-in-law, Marland Bjerke and Walter Hovey.