Marlene Erickson
February 16, 1931 – January 17, 2023
Marlene Erickson
Feb. 16, 1931 – Jan. 17, 2023
Marlene Erickson, 91, of Garrison, passed away on January 17, 2023, at a hospital in Bismarck.
Marlene Erickson’s earthly time has come and she’s reunited with her husband, Ronnie, and cherished family and friends.
Marlene, the fifth child of Ernest and Lucy (Anderson) Carlson, Garrison, was born Feb. 16, 1931. She went to heaven Jan. 17, 2023.
Her memorial service will be Jan. 27, United Church of Christ, Garrison at 10:30 a.m. with spring internment next to Ronnie at the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery.
Marlene and Ronnie met while working at McLean Electric Cooperative in the late 1940s. They married June 14, 1952, immediately heading to California where Ronnie served in the U.S. Army.
They raised their two children, Stephen and Patricia, on 10 acres a couple of miles from Garrison, crafting their home together while assigning “jobs” to the kids keeping them out of their way as they hammered and painted.
Marlene’s creativity and attention to detail didn’t end there. Her love of ceramics led her to establish Marlene’s Ceramics where she taught many students, young and old alike, that they, too, have hidden artistic talent. A piece should be finished on the bottom to truly be complete and she encouraged each student to sign their name as testimony to their creativity.
Her own work was either initialed “ME” or “By Marlene” in meticulous penmanship, which is challenging on a piece of clay.
Marlene judged many county and state fair ceramic entries, took numerous advanced education classes to offer a wide array of techniques, and was involved in state and regional ceramic associations.
What began in the walk-in basement of their home morphed into the garage becoming a greenware pour room and later a large building housing one of the region’s largest retail shops.
Ronnie helped throughout her business journey and when they retired their traveling journeys in their van took them to almost every state, including driving twice to Alaska.
Marlene leaves her son, Stephen, and his wife, Susane, daughter Patricia Stockdill and her husband Rod, brother-in-law Eddie Erickson and sister-in-law Carmen Carlson, several nieces and nephews, and some ceramics and Sudoku puzzles to be completed at a later date.
Marlene would love it if friends and family considering memorials support the North Dakota Veteran’s Cemetery, United Church of Christ, Garrison, or perhaps something else she treasured – putting up birdbaths or feeders for feathered friends she and Ronnie enjoyed observing at home and in their travels.
To plant Memorial Trees in memory of Marlene Erickson, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
