Orville F. Erickson

May 24, 1931 - May 15, 2018

Born on May 24, 1931 to William and Alma (Thorsentsen) Erickson on a small farm outside of Irene, SD; passed away peacefully at a care facility in Blair, NE on May 15, 2018. The third eldest of nine children, Orville attended schools in the Irene area until he dropped out to help care for his family. He was a jack-of-all-trades; his employment included the Royal United Carnival where he worked as a midway boss. He worked on tug boats on the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers. Later he was employed by Speedway Motors where he worked both as a truck driver and a mechanic; he retired from there in 1995. Orville moved to Sioux City, Iowa where he met Naoma (Potter) Haines. They were married in Elk Point, SD on May 27, 1970 and resided in Sioux City until their move to Yellville, AR in 1997. He resided there until moving to Herman, NE with his daughter in 2014. Orville was often found out in the yard or in his shop, tinkering around with wood, glass, or metal art. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Alma Erickson; three brothers: Royal “Buck” Erickson, Charles Erickson, and Sanford Erickson; one sister, Erma Erickson; and his wife, Naoma Erickson. He is survived by four children: Margie Mathiesen (Dale) of Herman, NE, Debra Ruhland (Robert) of Sioux City, IA, Mickie Babij (Mike) of Newport, WA, and William Haines of Lead, AR; sisters: Pearl Tweedy of Crofton, NE, Avis Powers of Tooele, UT, and Emma Erickson of Douglas, WY; one brother, Raymond Erickson of Jefferson, SD; nine grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; several nieces and nephews. Private Family Service to be held at a later date.