Obituary of Gordon J. Erickson

Gordon James Erickson was born Nov. 8, 1925 at St. Maries to John and Mildred (Heimark) Erickson at St. Maries. He died March 12, 2012 at St. Maries. Gordon joined the Navy in 1942 at the age of 17. He served on the submarine tender the USS Orion. He was honorably discharged in 1946. In 1947 he went to watchmaker's school in Philadelphia where he met and married the love of his life, Nancy O'Donnell in 1948. Gordon returned to St. Maries in 1949 and moved to Superior, Mont. in 1954 where he opened his own jewelry store, "Erickson's." Later he went to work at Diamond National Lumber Mill. The family moved to Spokane in 1962 where he and Nancy worked for Suburban Gas. In 1965 he received a small inheritance from his grandmother that he used to purchase Trummell's Gas Station in St. Maries. He changed the name to Erickson's Husky and later Erickson's Chevron. Gordon owned and operated the service station for 27 years before retiring in 1992. It was the last full-service station in St. Maries. After retiring, Gordon and Nancy traveled extensively for several years. Gordon enjoyed fishing, hunting, camping, playing pool, dancing and spending time with friends and family. Gordon was a 50-year member of the St. Maries Elks Lodge. Gordon was preceded in death by his wife, Nancy, of 52 years; his grandson, James Michael Murphy in 1970 and his brother, John Erickson in 2009. Survivors include his daughters and sons in law, Sheila and Jim Daugherty; Noreen and Gary Newbill of Spokane; Terri and Mike Murphy; Karen and Fred Sindt of St. Maries; his son and daughter-in-law, Kevin and Katie Erickson of Madisonville, La. He is also survived by 11 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren; his brother Eugene Erickson of Wenatchee; and his sister Bernice Norton of Oak Harbor, Wash., as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Friends and family gathered to celebrate his life March 20, at the St. Maries Elks Lodge. Deacon Floyd Turner officiated. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to the Alzheimer's Foundation. Visit Gordon's online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.hodgefuneralhome.com. Read Gordon Erickson's Obituary and Guestbook on www.hodgefuneralhome.com.