Ione Marie Erickson went to be with the Lord on Saturday, October 21, 2023 at the age of 85 years old.

She was born to Lincoln and Evelyn Johnson on their wedding anniversary - October 1, 1938, in Alpha, WI.

Her first home was the buttermaker’s house in Alpha, as her father was the buttermaker for Burnett Dairy. The house was located where the Burnett Dairy parking lot now stands. Her three older brothers, Kenneth, Glen and Curtis, were thrilled to finally have a sister and went door to door to tell all the neighbors! Ione attended four different grade schools in Alpha, Falun, Branstad and Grantsburg. She attended Grantsburg High School, and it was to her great disappointment that girls’ athletics had not yet been introduced. However, she was delighted to be among the few high school girls who had a car to drive to school! After her graduation in 1956, she moved to Minneapolis and was employed at the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company. One of her favorite activities was roller skating, and it was one evening at the rink in Spring Lake Park that she met the person God had picked to be her future husband, Richard Erickson. The love affair began with the shared car-pooling trips between the Twin Cities and Grantsburg. After a short courtship, they were married at Trade Lake Baptist Church in a beautiful candle-lit Christmas wedding on December 14, 1957. Shortly after their marriage, Richard received his draft notice and off to California they went. Their first child, Rick, was born in a Military Hospital in California while Dick was stationed at the Army Language School in Monterey, CA. When Ione was due with Rhonda, she headed back to Grantsburg, as Richard was to be discharged shortly. They then moved to Fridley, MN, where two more children, Julie and Randal, joined the family. Ione made many good friends with the neighborhood women and enjoyed many mornings gathering in the backyards drinking coffee and visiting while the kids played. In 1965, the “Big Fridley Tornado” destroyed their home. After rebuilding, they lived there until 1968 when they decided to move their family back home to Grantsburg to start a Red Owl grocery store. They lived the first couple of years in their small Wood Lake cabin before moving into town. That was a very enjoyable time in Ione’s life, being among many friends and family in her beloved hometown, now raising her own family. Ione helped Dick in getting the grocery store running and enjoyed talking to all the customers as she ran the cash register. Many fond memories were made over the years when Dick and Ione had the Red Owl store. Upon retiring they were fortunate to do some traveling and for Ione's 65th birthday, Dick surprised her with a yellow (her favorite color) Volkswagen Bug with a personalized license plate, and Ione was so excited to drive it around town. She also loved her church and served in many roles at Grace Baptist. For many years she served as the social and food service coordinator at the church and one thing she tried to teach the kitchen workers was, “ Do not lick your fingers while preparing and serving food in the kitchen!” She was also known to slap a few hands while preparing food for family gatherings. Another one of Ione's passions was sports and games. She played softball, wallyball, golf and “social security” in addition to ice skating and roller skating with her friends. She loved the Grantsburg Pirates and all the high school sports, and cheering on the Minnesota Vikings and the Twins. She was very competitive when it came to sports and playing games, even if it meant beating her grandkids at board games. Family gatherings always included board games or a tournament of bocce ball.

Ione is preceded in death by her parents, Lincoln and Evelyn Johnson, her three brothers, Kenneth, Glen, and Curtis Johnson, brother in law Elwood Erickson, brother & sister in law Don & Faith Moen, and sister in law Eleanor Johnson.

She is survived by her loving husband, Richard Erickson, sons Rick (Collette) Erickson and Randal (Deb) Erickson, and daughters Rhonda (Dave) Dean and Julie (Kip) Vangsgard; grandchildren Scott (Sara) Peer, Sarah DeMarre, Steven (Maegan) Moore, Trent (Kelsey) Vangsgard, Kayla (Ben) Bartz, Tate (Krista) Vangsgard, Gunnar Erickson, Bjorn Erickson, Michele (Darren) Wesloh, Theresa (Mike) Boeshans, and 14 great-grandchildren; brother in law, Leif (Becky) Erickson, and sisters in law Berdella Johnson and Arlene Erickson, and many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to give a special thank you to Carol and the staff at the Continuing Care Center for the loving care over the last few months.

The memorial service will be held at Grace Baptist Church in Grantsburg on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. (visitation from 10:00-11:00 a.m.) with Pastor Kevin Miller officiating. Interment will take place at the Anscarius Cemetery in Wood River Township following the luncheon with pallbearers Scott Peer, Steven Moore, Trent Vangsgard, Tate Vangsgard, Gunnar Erickson and Bjorn Erickson.

In Lieu of flowers memorials are preferred to Gideons International.

Arrangements were entrusted to Swedberg-Taylor Funeral Home.

Last Update: Oct 24, 2023 8:48 am CDT