We Left Michigan and Then Thirty-two Days Later Wisconsin was in Our Rearview Mirror

We left Michigan on September 16th and pulled into my sister Chris and her husband, Perry's driveway later that day. 

Driving along M-35 we get our last looks of 
Lake Michigan for awhile.
Dandelion by our steps this morning.

Crossing over the Menominee River 
and we are in Wisconsin.

Our two brothers showed up the next day and
we are all parked in their driveway.
 Along with a few other vehicles.
It was a lovely fall weekend and we were able to
spend some of our time sitting out on their deck.

Top picture left to right: Frank, myself, Chris and Jeff.
Bottom picture left to right: Chris, Frank and Jody his wife, 
Jeff, and I think you recognize Tom and I. Jeff's wife Linda
sadly was not able to join us.

We spent a lot of our time over the weekend along with Chris and Perry's daughter, Stacy and their son, Brad and his partner Jenny. in their living room chatting. Even though by now Perry was in a hospital bed in that room he was no longer awake, yet, we all believed he could hear us and so included him in our conversations. 

Our youngest brother, Jeff, is still working and left Sunday to head back home. Stacy,  their daughter, also headed home as she needed to sleep. The week ahead for her included testing as she completed her last week of training for her new job as a correction officer. (Her dad was very proud of her for making this decision in her life.) The rest of us stayed and later that evening Jody and Tom headed to bed. Even though Frank and I kept saying it was getting late neither of us made a move to follow them. Brad who had been spending the nights with his Dad so Chris could get some sleep was there but Chris was staying up and made no move to leave his side. 

In the very early morning hours of September 19, 2022 Perry opened his eyes and Chris saw a tear and waved me over and all I could see was Perry's eyes smiling at her. In the minutes that followed with her hand on his heart Perry quietly and peacefully slowly stopped breathing and left this world to go home to God. He had turned 60 in March and they had celebrated their 40th Wedding Anniversary in July. The next day it was 11 weeks since they had found out he had Pancreatic Cancer. As I write this it has been almost seven  weeks since God took him home and it still does not seem real.

I must say we clean up pretty good.
Perry's favorite color was orange and his wife
is wearing orange in his honor.

Perry D. Erickson, age 60, of Sheboygan WI, found peace September 19th at his home, surrounded by his loving family, after a short battle with cancer.

Perry was born March 31, 1962, in Iron Mountain, MI to Caren and C. Thomas Erickson. Perry was united in marriage to Chris (Richer) Erickson on July 10, 1982. The couple recently celebrated 40 years of marriage. Chris has been by Perry’s side through thick and thin, and all throughout his recent struggles, when he needed her most. Together, Perry and Chris raised two loving children, Stacy and Brad. Perry was always ready with a word of advice or encouragement. He expected the best from them and for them.

While working to raise a young family, Perry decided to pursue an engineering career. With persistence and determination, he received his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University. After a few opportunities elsewhere, Perry took a position at Kohler Co. The location was ideal, as it brought the family closer to their roots in the Upper Peninsula.

Perry was conscientious and hardworking. He took great pride in his work as a senior staff engineer for Kohler Co. He enjoyed his coworkers and being a team player. This past year Perry’s career achievements were recognized at the Innovation Celebration. He was presented the “Walter J. Kohler Patent Award” by David Kohler for his innovative contributions and ingenuity. He is named as inventor on numerous US patents. As an Engineer he was truly a creative problem solver.

For fun and adventure Perry enjoyed camping, motorcycling, competitive shooting, kite flying, and deer hunting at the Deer Ol’ Dump. He also enjoyed many other activities, especially spending time with family and friends. If you were lucky enough to call Perry family or a friend, you were fortunate. He will be greatly missed.

Survivors include: wife, Chris (Richer) Erickson; children, Stacy Erickson, and Brad Erickson (Jenni); mother, Caren (Carbis) Erickson, Kingsford MI; sister, Paula (Matt) Benjamin; sister-in-law, Deb (Tom) Duchaine; brothers-in-law, Frank (Jody) Richer, Jeff (Linda) Richer and many nieces and nephews.

Preceding Perry in death were his dad, C. Thomas Erickson; his sister; Laurie Moniowczak; in-laws, Frank and Marcella (DesJardin) Richer.

Perry’s wife, Chris, and his family would like to acknowledge and sincerely express appreciation to the staff at the Aurora Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinic and Palliative/Hospice Care. Thank you for your kindness, love and support during Perry’s final days.

The Reinbold-Novak Funeral Home at 1535 S. 12th St., Sheboygan, is serving the family. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Saturday, September 24th from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. with a service to follow.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Today after 32 days in my sister's driveway we pulled in the slides, Tom started the Stinger "B's engine, we hooked up the Jeep and drove away. That sounds so easy but after sitting for that long we actually started getting ready the day before but getting ready to leave was the easy part. Actually leaving that was the hard part. Honestly, as I write this it brings the same reaction as the actual leaving and my eyes are leaking. Yet it was time to go. The weather said it was time to go and my head said the same thing. Chris knew it was time for us to leave but that did not make it any easier. It was my heart I had trouble convincing. We drank our coffee in her living room and then we hugged. Then Tom pulled the Stinger "B" out onto the road and we hooked up the Jeep. Then we hugged some more. I have trouble leaving under the best of circumstances but today well it was just hard. I truly believe God has a plan for all of us but sometimes it is hard to understand and accept. 

The leaves are putting on a colorful show
as we head west.

There is a "breeze".

We cross over the Mississippi River 
and are officially in the West.

Our destination was the Amana RV Park in Amana, Iowa where we would have full hookups since the forecast was for freezing temperatures over night the electricity was important. We spent three nights here re-grouping and coming up with a plan as to where we were going to go. We decided and on Friday, October 21st we pointed the Stinger "B" south and we were off. 

 

Perry will be loved and missed by all of us forever!

A short summary of our summer is one post back.