Patricia Florence (Thielen) Erickson

Sophia Florence Patricia (Thielen) Erickson passed into the arms of her Lord and Savior on August 25th, 2022 after a short stay at United Hospital in St. Paul, MN.

Patricia was born February 20th, 1933 to Claude and Florence Thielen.  The majority of her childhood was in North Minneapolis with her parents and two brothers Robert Claude and William John.  She graduated from North High School in Minneapolis. 

Patricia was united in marriage to Howard Vernon Erickson on December 12th, 1953. Howard and Pat had two children, Rhonda and Lori and then their early married life took a drastic turn when her mother died in 1957. They moved into a shared duplex with her dad and brothers to help manage two households.  In 1960, they built a home in Bradford, MN and had two more children, Vickie and Kurt. As the basement house (one bedroom) appeared to get smaller, they built up two stories and added the twins, Brenda and Bradley. In 1975, Sheila came into this houseful and was adopted a year later. At this point, they knew their family was complete.  During the course of raising their family, they welcomed hundreds of foster children into their home. Some of which are still part of this family and so important to this date. Some came to their home for a long weekend from respite care and some came from the hospital awaiting adoption. Some came from other homes and some from situations beyond our imagination.  Each child was loved, clothed, treasured and given the very best beginning possible.  

Howie and Pats home was always open to any and all. From the many family gatherings, cousins coming to the country, to youth church groups, their snowmobiling group to someone needing a place to live while their house was being built. You could always count on a seat at the table. Their social life included a relatively small group of friends in the Bradford area. Fondue nights, hunting, snowmobiling, just to name a few.  Across Hwy 47 the other half of their family lived. Not of the same blood but as close to brothers and sisters as possible. Don and Jan shared in raising children, vacations, jobs and all of life’s journeys. Howie and Pat believed in great vacations with their family. Starting out with tents, to a tenting trailer and then graduating to a RV. Many vacations included going to places where other family members lived, California, Michigan, Idaho, many homes in Minnesota. Although almost every state was visited during these vacations. 

Pat was one of the first Ward Secretaries (now called Health Unit Coordinators) at the Cambridge Medical Center (now Allina). While she worked part time, she was a stickler for family meals all together.  Her children enjoyed many benefits of Pat being their mom; rides to the bus in a warm car, warm homemade donuts or cinnamon rolls as we got off the bus (she had Lillian Peterson over), never ending love and her always being their advocate. You cannot imagine what a great mama bear she was, until she had grandchildren! With 7 children, she loved and enjoyed many grandchildren and great grandchildren.  This number is constantly changing. Even as this is typed, we are anxiously awaiting another arrival. 

Pat (and Howie) retired to Florida in the late 1990s. They were very active in their new community, attending church, making friends, attending pool volleyball. After a few years Pat joined the red shirts, this was a group of seniors that worked at Universal Studios. The amusement park would pick them up in a bus and bring them home after their shift.  They got paid in park tickets (the family sure enjoyed this). After several years both Pat and Howie worked at Cypress Gardens. While working there, they received many awards including top pizza chef and several times volunteer of the month. 
Pat was preceded in death by her husband, daughter Vickie, her parents and her brothers. She will be deeply missed by her children, Rhonda (Paul) Pentz, Lori (Thomas) Dimitry, Sheila (Randal) Zejdlik, Kurt (Michelle) Erickson, Brenda (Jeff) Lundeen, Bradley (Jennifer ) Erickson, many grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews and friends.                            

The family thanks you for your role in Pats life and the ongoing support to each of them.
 

A Memorial Celebration will be held at Oxlip Evangelical Free Church on September 1, 2022 at 1 PM.

Friends may gather 1 hour prior to the celebration at the church.

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