Obituary of Richard "Dick" Nave Ericson

Richard Nave Ericson, age 87, passed away peacefully on Sunday, March 31, 2019. Dick was born on September 19, 1931 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Don and Margaret Ericson. He was raised in Oklahoma City and graduated from Classen High School in 1950. He attended Oklahoma A&M College, now OSU, where he met his late wife, Louise (Turner) Ericson, while working as a houseboy at her sorority. They were married after graduation in June of 1955. Dick had served six months in the Air Force during college but after graduation he went on to complete his two years of military service in the Army at Fort Gordon, Georgia. Dick and Louise returned home to Oklahoma City where Dick became a typewriter salesman for IBM. They later transferred with IBM to Shreveport, Louisiana, where they both had fond memories of their young family life. Dick enjoyed sales and moved on to Xerox, selling copy machines followed by textbooks for Open Court. Open Court brought them to Park Forest, Illinois, and eventually Peru, Illinois where Dick was the production manager for the delightful Cricket magazine for children. He later returned to his favorite role as salesman and enjoyed a successful career in the paper industry for Plainwell and Simpson Paper. Dick and Louise lived happily in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for twenty-four years before retiring to Colorado in 1999. They enjoyed exploring all the beauty Colorado has to offer, especially their favorite mountain town, Crested Butte. Dick was cheerful, fun-loving, encouraging and dedicated to his family. His early years revolved around his large extended family in Oklahoma and the family farms where he hunted, fished and helped with harvest. He was an adventurous cook throughout his life, having got his culinary start in high school working at a drug store soda fountain. As an avid golfer, Dick played often with his many friends in the paper business. His sweet tooth was legendary, having a penchant for ice cream sandwiches and Oreo donuts. He was a fabulous story-teller and an equally good listener. He loved people and made them feel special, always bringing out the best in others. Dick was a wonderful husband, father, father-in-law, grandfather, brother and friend.Dick was preceded in death by his wife of sixty-three years, Louise Ericson; and his parents, Don and Margaret Ericson; as well as his sister, Joan Mitchell. He was also preceded in death by his grandson, Scott Ericson, whom he can now know and love in heaven. He is survived by his sister, Lucetta (Mel) Klepper of Roswell, Georgia; and his children, David (Susan) Ericson of Whittier, California, Richard (Cynthia) Ericson of Chicago, Illinois and Nancy (Richard Leap) Ericson of Colorado Springs, Colorado. His grandchildren are Sarah Ericson, Jennifer Ericson, Andrew Ericson, Catrina Ericson, John Ericson, Brendan Leap and Grant Leap.Dick will be dearly missed by all his family and friends. Celebration of Life, 2:00PM, Saturday, May 11, 2019, Palisades at Broadmoor Park, 4547 Palisades Park View, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80906. The family is especially grateful to the kind and compassionate staff of the Palisades at Broadmoor Park, Encompass Health and Suncrest Hospice. Their loving nature and tenderhearted care brought great comfort to Dick and his family. Events Celebration of Life Saturday, May 11, 2019 2:00PM Palisades at Broadmoor Park 4547 Palisades Park View Colorado Springs,, CO 80906 Phone: 719-328-1793