Erling A. WILLIAMSON

WILLIAMSON, MOWATT, BLENDOW, PHILLIPS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 7/24/2008 at 09:23:57

News Tribune, The (Tacoma, WA)
January 16, 2007

Erling A. Williamson
Erling passed away on Jan 13, 2007, at age 85, surrounded by his family. He was born in Kanawha, IA, on Oct. 12, 1921, to Nels and Elfreda Williamson, one of 12 children on the family farm. He was preceded in death by both his parents, three brothers and five sisters. He was the loving husband of Harriett for 64 years; father of Dianne of Antioch, Il, Rodney (Connie) of Lyle, MN, Jeffery (Roxann) of Sea-Tac, WA, and Timothy (Theresa) of Billings, MT; brother of Verna Mowatt of San Bernardino, CA, and Ardelle Blendow of Sun Prairie, WI; grandfather of seven; and great-grandfather of ten. Erling grew up working on the family farm in Iowa with his parents who immigrated to the US from Norway. On Nov 8, 1942, he married the love of his life, Harriet (Phillips), in Albert Lea, MN. Erling was drafted into the Army in 1943 and was discharged in 1945. He trained to become a plumber and moved to Lyle, MN, to open and operate his own plumbing business. In the fall of 1969 he moved the family to Tacoma, WA, to take a civil service job at Fort Lewis. He retired in 1987. Erling enjoyed many years of fishing and camping on Mineral Lake, traveling to Lake Havasu in the winter, and tinkering in his garage on his many projects. One of his greatest joys was meeting his many friends for coffee each morning at McDonalds to share stories, enjoy every ones company, and instigate an occasionally high-spirited debate. He was proud of his Norwegian heritage. He loved all types of Norwegian cooking and would never pass up a chance to enjoy a good lutefisk dinner. We thank Dr. Luber and the staff at St. Joseph's for the outstanding care they provided Erling these past few weeks. A Memorial Service will be held 11:00AM on Jan 19, 2007, at Weeks Dryer Mortuary. Memorial donations may be sent to the Ronald McDonald House children's charity.