Obit for ERICKSON, Helen "LaVonne" (b.1933 d.2004), Murray Co., MN ========================================================================= USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. If you have found this file through a source other than the MNArchives Table Of Contents you can find other Minnesota related Archives at: http://www.usgwarchives.net/mn/mnfiles.htm Please note the county and type of file at the top of this page to find the submitter information or other files for this county. FileFormat by Terri--MNArchives Made available to The USGenWeb Archives by: Judy Clarke Submitted: December 2004 ========================================================================= 1933 - Helen "LaVonne" Erickson - 2004 Helen LaVonne Erickson age 71 of Westbrook, died Saturday, December 4, 2004 at the Westbrook Good Samaritan Care Center in Westbrook after a courageous battle with cancer. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 AM Wednesday at the Old Westbrook Lutheran Church in rural Westbrook. Visitation will be held from 4:00  7:00 PM Tuesday at the Westbrook Funeral Home, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Tuesday. Interment is in the church cemetery. The Westbrook Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. LaVonne was born July 5, 1933 in Worthington, MN to John and Verna (Karstens) Deuth. She was baptized and confirmed at the Presbyterian Church in Worthington. She began her schooling in Worthington, and later attended Tracy High School where she graduated in 1951. On December 2, 1951 LaVonne was united in marriage to James Erickson at Old Westbrook Lutheran Church. In the early years after her wedding, LaVonne worked at Toro in Windom. She later worked for Home Care in Tracy for several years, and at a nursing home in Redwood Falls. While she was there, she attended Home Health Care training in Fairfax. After she received her certification in Home Health Care in Willmar, LaVonne applied for a position at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Her first job assignment was taking care of Leonard Odell of Edina, who was the founder of Burma Shave Company. After Leonards death, LaVonne stayed on with his wife Betty for nine years. During this time, she learned a lot about the loving daughters of the Odell family, and about the Burma Shave Company and their 7,000 sets of signs throughout the United States. . Together LaVonne and James lived on the same century farm near Westbrook all of their 53 years of marriage. Helen was a member of the Old Westbrook Lutheran Church, the Stavanger Lodge #538, and The Sons of Norway in Windom. LaVonne enjoyed traveling, especially to Yellowstone National Park with Jim. One of her favorite trips was the drive to Yellowstone with her husband in their 1970s convertible. She also enjoyed fishing and spending time at their cabin on Lake Osakis. LaVonne was a loving mother and wife, and will be greatly missed by her husband Jim, son Douglas Erickson & wife Sharon (Mathiowetz) of Le Sueur, daughter Tammy St. Pierre of Eden Prairie, grandson Matthew Erickson of Le Sueur, brother Jack Deuth and wife Pat of Montevideo, and many other relatives and friends. She is preceded in death by her parents John and Verna Deuth.