In memoriam: John Erickson, 1923 - 2010

John Erickson, a child of the plains of the Midwest, passed away on Feb. 4, 2010.

Erickson grew up in various South Dakota and Nebraska towns. His father was a minister, so part of his upbringing was meeting new people in new places. He loved academia, the mental exercise and the chance to share knowledge with others. After graduating from Yankton College, he went to serve as an instructor in the Army Air Corps. At the end of the war he married his first wife -- a girl from Omaha -- and they stayed in Omaha, went to Omaha University and had a son.

For his graduate work, he attended Indiana University under the tutelage of Dr. Muller, a Nobel Laureate in genetics, with whom he did research on radiation and mutation. This also was Erickson's first time working with James Watson, who would later receive the Nobel Prize for the DNA model. Erickson and his wife had a daughter during this time.

After John's graduation, the Erickson family moved to McCook, Neb., where Erickson worked at McCook Junior College. The family added a second son in 1952 in McCook.

The year 1959 saw the next big change, when the family moved to Eugene, Ore., and the halls of the University of Oregon. During the next five years John, ran the freshman biology 101 programs and in very limited spare time obtained his Ph.D in genetics. That summer, he graduated on his oldest son’s birthday.

After interviewing at several institutions in the west, John Erickson opted to take the position at Western Washington College in Bellingham. At Western, John taught and was active in the local and campus communities. He also continued his research with drosophila and did genetic counseling and advising for people and domestic animal breeders. He met and married his second wife in Bellingham.

In retirement, he continued to edit text books and lead nature walks in the RV world, and in the winters he helped the science teachers near the couple's trailer park in Mexico. In 1999, he lost his wife to Legionnaires' Disease.

His children do well in their lives. Steve, the eldest, is a fire department training safety officer and teaches at the Washington state fire academy. Kae is a past Salvation Army minister, a past first viola in the Northern Arizona symphony and currently teaches music at a charter school in Glendale, Ariz. The youngest, David, a 20-year U.S. Air Force veteran, recently finished his master's degree in computer science. Grandchildren and great grandchildren abound and follow in pursuing life goals founded in education.