Alice Marie (Hendrickson) Erickson, 78, of Plentywood, died Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, at Sheridan Memorial Hospital.
Born on Oct. 21, 1942, the fifth born child of Arnold and Clara (Haug) Hendrickson, she joined her siblings on the farm southeast of Dagmar. She loved life on the farm. From milking cows to helping her father with the field work, she treasured her upbringing. She learned to dance at the Log Hall and enjoyed the twostep, polka, waltz, shottish, jitterbug and butterfly.
She married Dennis T. Erickson March 18, 1961, at St. Olaf Lutheran Church in Grenora, N.D. To this union, they added four children: DuWayne, Doreen, Doris and Alicia. They lived on the Erickson Farm on the Dakota line between Dagmar and Grenora. She enjoyed dancing, meeting the neighbors for barbecues and bonfires at Brush Lake, trying their luck on the slot machines and celebrating birthdays and holidays with family. They were happily married for 40 years until Dennis’ death on July 31, 2001.
Being a terrific baker, she would make pies, donuts, fattigmann, lefse, cookies, cakes and countless other homemade goodies. Her reasoning was that she never knew who would be stopping by for coffee and she loved the way the homemade goodies tasted.
She was blessed with 10 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. Her life was rocked when she lost her only son, DuWayne, in an accident on June 5, 1999. She experienced something that no mother should experience in losing her second-born daughter, Doreen, to cancer on Sept. 19, 2008.
She was proud of being a school bus driver for Medicine Lake Public Schools for 18 years. She retired in 2002 after Dennis’ death. Retirement brought a new adventure as she moved off the Erickson farm and moved to Williston, N.D., in the summer of 2002. She lived there until she moved to Grenora in 2012. Due to her health, she moved closer to her daughter Doris and lived at the Pioneer Manor in Plentywood.
Family meant everything to her. She loved her daily chats with her daughters as well as visits with her siblings and grandchildren. She will be remembered for her infectious smile and easygoing personality. She taught her children to be humble, kind and to always make time to stop and talk to family and friends.
She is survived by her children, Alicia Erickson of Dickinson, N.D., and Doris Wivholm of Medicine Lake; numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and siblings, Howard Hendrickson, Orville Hendrickson, Tony Hendrickson, Mary Ann LePage, Dorothy Blomberg, Evelyn Simonson, Syliva Haven, Pearl Haven and Judy Bergeron.
She was also preceded in death by her grandchild, Shane Krosbakken; great-grandson, Koury Reynolds; sister, Bernice Haugen; and her baby brothers, Gene and Arlyn.
A memorial service was held Friday, Nov. 6, at the Fulkerson Funeral Home Chapel in Plentywood with family friend, Ralph Summers, officiating. Interment was at the Grenora Cemetery.