Obituary of Thomas Allan Erickson
Thomas Allan “Tom” Erickson
3/17/1952-10/17/2020
Tom, our dear husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin and a beloved friend to many, peacefully passed away at home on Saturday, October 17th, 2020, at 2:03 p.m., surrounded by his family. Tom bravely fought a 10-month battle with esophageal cancer. He was preceded in death by his loving parents, Charles and Bernice (Vogel) Erickson; Mervin Healy and Barbara (Evans) Healy; sister Muriel Neubeck and brother-in-law Robert Neubeck; sister-in-law Elaine Erickson; brother-in-law Jack Cunningham and brother-in-law and best friend Mark Healy.
Tom was baptized in the Lutheran Church and he was confirmed by the LCMS in the mid-1960s. He graduated from Richfield High School in 1970. Over the years, Tom served the Lutheran Church as council president, ushered, was active on the property committee, and sang in church choir. He had a deep and abiding faith in his Lord and Savior, who has lovingly and faithfully walked this cancer journey right alongside him. Tom was a good, honest, witty man with a remarkable sense of humor. He could “fix anything that broke” and was well-loved, respected, and appreciated by his family and friends, many of whom were ongoing recipients of Tom’s amazing technical and handyman skills.
Tom and Marla (Healy) Erickson were married 8/19/1972 at Richfield United Methodist Church in Minneapolis. They lived in Minnesota for a year and then were job-transferred to Arizona for a year and again, in 1975, to CA, where they made their home for 31 years. Daughters Julie and Meghan and granddaughter Mackenzie were born while in California. The whole family of five relocated to Minnesota in late 2006, where Tom and Marla made their home in Delano.
Tom spent the bulk of his career in the photofinishing field as both a technical service coordinator and, later, photographic sales of professional products, having been employed both by Pako Corporation of Minneapolis and Agfa Corporation of Germany. In 2001, with the advent of digital, he changed career courses and went to work for the federal government as a TSA agent and behavior detection officer at both LAX and MSP, being a graduate of the first post-9/11 TSA roll-out class at LAX in 2002. He retired from MSP TSA in 2018, after 16 years.
Tom and Marla both thoroughly enjoyed being involved in their grandchildren’s lives. So memorable and enjoyable were just the day-to-day rituals of helping with carpools, attending school and church programs and plays, gymnastics competitions and dance recitals and soccer, where they proudly watched from the pews and bleachers throughout the years.
Tom’s recreational passions were golf, the MN Vikings and travel. Tom would play golf weekly in the summer in Minnesota and then travel to a series of warm-weather destinations in the wintertime to golf and visit friends and relatives. He was thrilled to be able to play Cypress Point in CA in 2014 with dear friends (thanks, Allan) and he served as a volunteer brand ambassador at the 3M Open held here in MN in 2019, both amazing great memories.
The highlight of this year as a Vikings fan was being recently invited as a guest of former longtime MN Vikings quarterback Tommy Kramer to watch the Vikings home opener together, seated side by side with this remarkable man, in the home of Tommy’s friend, Buddy Becker. (Vikings lost, but Tom will never forget it!)
Tom loved to travel, literally all around the world, both with Marla and family. Many family cruises and resorts were enjoyed with Julie, Meghan, grandkids, family and friends, especially in the wintertime. A couple of his favorite trips were visiting his best Agfa buddy, Jens, in Thailand in 2013, as well as an Alaskan cruise with Marla in May of 2019.
Tom is survived by his loving wife of 48 years, Marla; daughters Julie Potter and Meghan (Erik) Weaver; grandson Zachary; granddaughters Mackenzie and Addison; grandsons Brayden (Lexi) and Christian; great-grandson Bentley; brother and sister-in-law Charles and Karen Erickson, sister Sandra Cunningham; brother Steven Erickson; stepmother-in-law Phyllis Healy, sisters-in-law Darcy Healy and Nancy Healy, many loving nieces and nephews, and dear family friends Ron and Vikki Oliveira.
Memorial service Saturday, November 14th, 2020 at 1:00 p.m., Peace Lutheran Church, 600 Kristi Lane, Watertown, MN 55388, with visitation the evening before from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the church. Private family inurnment at a later date. Memorials preferred to Peace Lutheran Church or donor’s choice.
