Obituary of LaVera Erickson

LaVera Ruth Erickson of Camrose passed away on Tuesday, September 30, 2014 at the age of 89 years. LaVera Erickson was born February 15, 1925 in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. She was the eighth child in a family of twelve children born to Carrie and Seatse Stapert. She was the first Stapert to graduate from post secondary school, and became a registered nurse at the Deaconess Hospital in Minneapolis. In 1949 LaVera married Pastor Merle Erickson. They served at a church in Bagley, Minnesota, and their first daughter, Anna, was born in 1951. Later that year with baby Anna, they moved to Canada to serve the Hawarden/ Hanley Parish in Saskatchewan. Children Sarah, Rebecca, Jonathan and Naomi were born in Hawarden. In 1956 they moved to Donalda, Alberta, serving the three point Lutheran parish of Sharon, Ferry Point and Pleasington, and Mary and David joined the family. LaVera became a widowed mother of seven children after Merle lost his battle with colon cancer in 1962. She moved the family to Camrose, where there were more opportunities for her to make a living to raise her young family. LaVera resumed her nursing career as a registered nurse in Alberta, and worked at Rosehaven in Camrose, touching the lives of many patients and staff throughout her years there. Even as a single mother, LaVera made sure her children had piano and swimming lessons and played sports. She encouraged all her children to pursue their education. In the summers she would pack all seven children into the car and drive to Wisconsin and Minnesota to visit their grandparents and other relatives. After LaVera retired from Rosehaven, she became a bit of a world traveler! She visited her eldest daughter Anna and husband Harold in South Africa; she traveled to the Holy Land; a friend invited her to Yugoslavia; she went to England with her son-in-law Harold; and she even spent some time in a rural village in Mexico with Dan and Leonie Gomez. LaVera also spent a fair bit of time traveling to visit her children and their families, spread across the continent: in Kingman, Spruce Grove, Vancouver, Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Atlanta. Twenty people call LaVera "Grandma Erickson," and she has thirteen great-grandchildren! Throughout her 89 years LaVera persevered through many challenges, relying on her strong Christian faith to bring her through. Now she rests, a beloved child of God. Left to cherish her memory are her children Jonathan (Debbie) of Minnesota, U.S.A., David Erickson of Spruce Grove, Anna (Harold) Dalton of Oklahoma City, Sarah (Robert) Young of Georgia, Rebecca (Lyle) of Kingman, Naomi Erickson of Denver Colorado, and Mary (Peter) Hanson of Surrey, B.C.; twenty grandchildren; thirteen great-grandchildren; one brother; and three sisters. LaVera was predeceased by husband Merle; three brothers; and four sisters. A funeral service was held on Monday, October 6, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. from the Messiah Lutheran Church (4810 50 Street,Camrose) with Rev. David Eriksson officiating. Inurnment has taken place in the Pleasington Cemetery. Memorial contributions are gratefully accepted to CLBI or charity of one's choice.