Obituary of Ruth May Erickson

Ruth May Erickson (Melsby) went home to celebrate the birth of Jesus in person the morning of Christmas 2024. She was surrounded by love and family at her home in Silver Bay MN. Ruth was born November 10^th, 1943, to Lowell and Violet Melsby. Ruth’s Home and table were always a place for family and friends to gather, to share food, fun, love, laughter and each other’s company. Everyone was welcomed at Ruth’s table and no one ever left hungry. Ruth Loved to cook and bake especially with her daughter’s and grandkid’s. Ruth was an avid explorer in her younger years, spending a lot of time camping and fishing with her husband Don in many different parts of the country. For many years Ruth was also an avid baseball fan and spent many an afternoon cheering on the Minnesota Twins like her father before her. To sum up the extent of Ruths wonderful and amazing light, love, and life in just a few short paragraphs would be hard to do.

Family was always very important to Ruth, including many of her friends whom she would also consider family. If Ruth was not busy spending time with her kids and grandkids you could just about guarantee she was off galivanting with her friends or at home schooling them all in a game of cards. Ruth’s home was always full of love just like her food and her heart. She loved her family very much. Many knew her and she was and always will be loved by her family and those that knew her.

Ruth is preceded in death by her loving parents, her sister Mary (Melsby) Hagen, her son-in-law Steven MacMillan, The father of her children and first husband James Jorstad, and the love of her life Donald Erickson. Ruth is survived by her brother Ernest Melsby, her sister May Melsby, her three wonderful daughters Debra MacMillan, Sandra (Jason) Carter, Rebecca (Marc) Davey, her bonus daughter Mary (Randy) Brown, many grand and great grandchildren all who love her very much.

The family would like to add a special thank you to Doctors Johnson and Martinelli and the Essentia Health Hospice team for helping her to remain at home to pass away comfortably at home with her family by her side. Ruth expressed wishes to not have a funeral service so there will be a celebration of life at a later date in the spring.         

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.’”