Obituary of John Andrew Erickson

John Andrew Erickson, age 88, of Edina, MN (formally of Bloomington, MN) passed away Monday, November 15, 2021. Loved ones that will dearly miss John until they meet again are his wife of 64 ½ years, Barbara; his sons, Tim, Tom (Laura) and Terry; his grandchildren, Brittany (Clare), Adam (Kirsten) and Jenny; his 7 great-grandchildren as well as an extended family and an abundance of friends. Loved ones that cleared the path for John are his parents Otto and Ruby; sisters, Dorothy (Greeley), Florence (Anderson); brothers, Roger, and Charles.

A holiday “Jubilation of Life” will be held at St Luke’s Lutheran Church, 1701 W Old Shakopee Rd, Bloomington, MN 55431 on Friday, December 10, 2021. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am with a service at 11:00 am. Lunch will follow in the church fellowship hall. Private interment to follow at a later date. If you wish to view the service as a Live Stream, you can do so at www.stlukesbloomington.org. The family asks that you wear holiday colors/attire in memory of John’s love of Christmas. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to contribute the American Cancer Society, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospitals, or the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus.

John was born November 10th, 1933, at his Grandma Ada Carlson’s farm in Stockholm Township outside Cokato, MN. He was the fourth of five children born to Otto and Ruby Erickson and was baptized in Swedish at Stockholm Lutheran Church on December 23rd, 1933. At age 3, the Erickson family moved to Manannah, MN where at age 5, John began school in a one-room schoolhouse in District 37. At age 11, the family moved back to Stockholm Township where they settled on the family farm and John helped with farming the land and raising livestock. On June 15th, 1947, John was confirmed at Stockholm Lutheran Church where he continued to worship with his family. John lived on the family farm in until his junior year of high school when he moved to Lamson, MN to live with his sister Florence and her husband Evald Anderson.

John graduated from Cokato High School in May 1951 with a class size of 39 students. In 1952, he moved to Minneapolis, MN where he began his work career with Pioneer Engineering. During this time, he attended trade school in the evenings to progress his education and found ways to enjoy his bachelor life in a new city. John met Barbara Cronberg on July 6th, 1956, on a blind date which was orchestrated by Barbara’s friend Muriel Anderson. The two of them went Downton for a movie and had a very enjoyable time leading to many more future dates. Progressing quickly, an engagement party was held by Barbara’s mother Edna Cronberg and her older brothers on November 4th, 1956. After nine months of courtship and engagement, John married Barbara on April 12, 1957, at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN with Barbara Barrett as Maid of Honor and Charles Benson as Best Man.

Now residing in South Minneapolis, Timothy John was the first son born to on October 19th, 1958. With his family now growing and plans for more children, John made a career move and began working for the USDA in September 1960. Thomas Edward was born on November 12th, 1961, adding to the growing family. John and Barbara continued to live in South Minneapolis raising their 2 boys and John working his way through the USDA career pipeline. On January 10th, 1967, Terrence Otto was born and would complete their family of five. With their South Minneapolis home bulging at the seams, John and Barbara bought their first home in Bloomington, MN in 1968 and started a new life journey in the suburbs. In 1970, they joined St Luke’s Lutheran Church where they have enjoyed 50 plus years of fellowship, faith, and friendship.

John and Barbara’s life in Bloomington was a busy one with raising three boys. John continued his work with the USDA advancing to manage the Computer Operations for the Food and Nutrition Division and Barbara beginning a career with the Bloomington Schools. During their 52 years in Bloomington, they changed their address 4 times, added a lake place in New London, MN to their list of activities and purchased a home in Sun City West, AZ where they spent 17 years escaping the Minnesota winters. John was fondly known as “E” at the lake place and loved to fish, tinker on projects and was always ready to help the neighbors with his toolbox in hand. He loved to play Bridge or “500” and was very strategic when playing Train Dominos. He also enjoyed golfing although he would admit he was not very good. Musically, John could play the guitar and had a nice singing voice. He was a big supporter of the musical arts and supported all three of his sons with High School Marching Band, Minnesota Boys Choir, Music lessons and attending shows and concerts.

John retired from the USDA in 1996 completing a 36-year career. Not quite ready to settle down yet, he began his second career at Fairview Southdale Hospital where he worked in various positions, his favorite driving the shuttle bus for the hospital employees during a multi-year expansion of the hospital and parking facility. He was known for his gracious smile, outgoing personally, punctuality and decorating the shuttle bus for the holidays to make his riders feel welcomed. In 2010, John retired from Fairview Southdale after a 14-year run due to his colon cancer diagnosis and the need for surgery and chemotherapy.

Outside of work and being the matriarch of his family, John was a talented man that could do anything mechanically, horticulturally, and artistically. He was a talented gardener whether it be growing strawberries, raspberries, produce or flowers which fed his joy of cooking. He is known for his rosettes, almond rusks, rice pudding and amazing spaghetti and meatballs. He was also big on tradition to have family join with making Swedish Potato Sausage each holiday season. John loved to cook and entertain and always said “there is room for 1 more around the table”. His moto was “if you leave hungry, it’s your own fault” which probably supported the copious amounts of food he would prepare for gatherings.

John expanded his artistic talents to include stained glass creating glass art for gift giving and craft fairs. He also completed several commissioned stained-glass windows and wall hangings. John loved to make pens out of metal and wood which he would personalize as gifts to his family friends and while in Arizona learned the process to make multi-layered wood bowls. Adding to his creativity was the annual family Christmas gift that encompassed months of planning. These gifts containing monetary rewards came in the form of customized mini food trucks, wood block fortresses which needed to be strategically dissembled and money that he had the patience and talent to fold into various shapes such as roses, bow ties, fans, and shirts with neckties.

While not an avid reader, John enjoyed learning by talking with people and travel. He would often say that he was just a “dumb Swede”, but truth be told, he could add, subtract, multiply and calculate percentages in his head faster than a person could input into a calculator and was very smart with financial management. His fondest travel memories include an Alaskan Cruise where he took a helicopter ride from the ship to a explore a glacier, cruising through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal and traveling the Scandinavian countries visiting relatives and birthplaces of his family. Traveling to and from Arizona each Fall, and Spring was always an adventure as well. Each trip included new pathways to see different cities, visit historical sites or places of interest.

John was a proud grandfather of Brittany, Adam and Jenny and great-grandfather of Harper, Rogan, Tony, Pieper, Braedyn, Jade and Lamar and wanted nothing more than to have his family around him when that was possible. He was known for always having $2 bills when the kids arrived and loved to have conversations with them about their interests and what was happening in their lives. Fishing, shopping, cooking, and camping were just some of activities he enjoyed with his grandchildren, and he was an avid supporter of their life decisions, even if it was not exactly what he would do. You could often see him just sitting back and watching his family interact, especially at Christmas where he loved to watch gifts be opened to see the reaction on everyone’s faces.

In September 2020, John moved from his home at Realife Cooperative to Sunrise of Edina Assisted Living to join Barbara who had moved in June 2020. While he knew it was the right this to do with needing additional care for both of them, it was a difficult transition during a pandemic with isolation and losing independency.

John loved fiercely and deeply, wanted to be known as a person that gave from his heart and relished in providing small acts of kindness to his family and friends. John also had a very strong faith and attended church regularly and prayed often for wisdom and guidance. We take comfort in knowing that he is now at peace surrounded by light.