Vernon Lenore “Whitey” Erickson

Vernon Lenore “Whitey” Erickson passed away at age 88 at St. Patrick’s Hospital on Feb. 28. Whitey was born on April 28, 1924 in Alexandria, Minn. to Gustave and Helga Erickson.  After graduating from Central High School in Alexandria in 1942, Whitey started work with the Tradehome Shoe Company earning 42 cents and hour.  He was drafted into the US Navy in 1943 and attended basic training in Farragut, Idaho.  After basic he trained as a radioman and was then stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. From there he went to French Frigate Shoals until 1945 when he was sent to San Diego. He was discharged in March 1946 at Great Lakes Naval Station. Whitey attended college at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minn. and was inducted into its Hall of Fame as a member of the 1947-48-hockey team.  He graduated in 1950 with a degree in Education with minors in History and Psychology. After college Whitey worked for Northwest Airlines as a flight steward on the Seattle to Tokyo run for staging to Korea. He was recalled to the Navy in 1951 where he served on a tanker out of Norfolk, Va. and on a minesweeper.  He was honorably discharged in 1952. On June 13, 1953, he married Frances Mary McGowan in Willmar, Minn.  He then worked for Standard Oil and Canada Dry companies. In 1956, he started work as a parole agent for the state of Minnesota. In 1964, he became a criminal investigator and juvenile officer with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.  He was transferred to Ronan in 1968 where he retired from the BIA in 1982. Whitey was very involved in the Boy Scouts of America, achieving the Order of the Arrow along with sons, Chuck and Bob.  He was an avid golfer, teaching all who wanted to learn the game and he shared his beautiful roses with anyone who came to his home. Whitey was preceded in death by his parents, Gustave and Helga, his sister Irene Orner, his brothers, Raymond, Irving, and Glen; his wife, Frances Erickson, eldest son Charles Erickson and his daughter in law, Mary Ann Erickson. His sister, Lorraine Englestad, his children Bob Erickson, Jane Erickson and Hector Clemente, Barb Erickson, Mary and John Currie, and Tom and Mary Erickson survive him. His grandchildren, Loren and Rob Erickson, Philip and Jill Clemente, Gabby Clemente, Ryan and Lilibeth Clemente, Katie Clemente, Juan Clemente, Raima Ortiz, Erica and Cort Buchholz, Greg and Amy Loder, Pat and Jillian Currie, Christina Currie, Tory Sagoonick, Gustoff and Oskar Erickson, and great grandchildren, Ethan and Eli Currie, and Giovanni Clemente also survive him. A visitation was held Wednesday evening, March 6 at Foster Funeral Home in St. Ignatius.  Rosary will be Thursday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the St. Ignatius Catholic Mission with the funeral mass on Friday, March 8 at 10 a.m. in the Mission. Burial will follow in the Calvary Cemetery in Ronan, where military honors will be presented.  A reception for family and friends will be held at Whitey’s home following the burial.  Condolences may be left at fosterfhandcrematory.com.