Charlotte Marie Erickson

Charlotte Marie Erickson, age 88, of Dassel, MN died Monday, October 27, 2014 at her home in Dassel Township. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Dassel with the Rev. Keith Carlson officiating. Interment will be held at the Dassel Cemetery following the memorial service. A time to gather with the family will be held prior to the memorial service on November 1, 2014 from 12:00-2:00 p.m. at the Evangelical Covenant Church in Dassel. In lieu of flowers, the family prefers memorials to support missions. The Johnson Funeral Home in Dassel is in charge of the memorial arrangements. Charlotte Marie Erickson was born on January 31, 1926 in Harker's Corner, located in Hollis, Illinois to Robert and Edith (Northrup) Sill. Charlotte was the youngest of four children. At the age of 3, her family moved to Tuscarora Hill in Hollis Township, Illinois where she lived her entire childhood. Charlotte attended Hollis Elementary and graduated from Pekin Community High School in 1943. She was an active member of First Baptist Church in Pekin. Charlotte moved to Minneapolis in 1947 where she worked and attended Northwestern Bible College (now known as the University of Northwestern in Roseville, MN). She majored in Missions and Christian Education. Charlotte started dating Kermit Erickson in September, 1954. They were married on February 5, 1955 at Fourth Baptist Church in Minneapolis. Charlotte made Dassel her home where Kermit was a dairy farmer. In 1958 they moved to Edina, Minnesota for 14 years where Kermit was the caretaker of the Adath Yeshurun Cemetery; then later returned to the Dassel farm in 1972 where she lived until her death. Charlotte worked as a bookkeeper at various banks in Minneapolis prior to her marriage as well as doing bookkeeping for the Dassel cemetery and JLCO in Dassel. She was a wonderful homemaker in addition to her outside employment. Charlotte loved the Lord with all her heart and wanted everyone to know Him in a personal way like she did. She would never pass up an opportunity to talk about her Savior with anyone who would listen. Even in the last few days of her life, she was still sharing the Gospel with visitors that came by the house and telling what the Lord had done for her. As long as she had breath, she was praising the Lord, even in the midst of her pain. She had a heart for missions and spoke fondly of the time she spent with the Mennonite missionaries teaching children about the Lord in the Ozark Mountains in 1950. Charlotte taught Sunday School for over 50 years at Fourth Baptist Church, Edina Baptist Church, and the Evangelical Covenant Church of Dassel. She also taught Vacation Bible School and was always ready to serve the Lord in whatever capacity was required. Charlotte enjoyed Christian radio, DVDs, books, hymns, daily crossword puzzles, gardening, visiting with friends, and most of all reading her Bible and spending time with the Lord every day in prayer. She was an active member of the Evangelical Covenant Church in Dassel at the time of her death. Charlotte is survived by her loving and devoted husband, Kermit, who has been her "rock" for almost 60 years. Even though she was looking forward to being with Jesus, she was sad that she would not be able to celebrate Kermit's 100th birthday with him later this year. She is also survived by her four children: Diane (Charles) Freitag of Hutchinson, MN; Karen (Mike) Powell of Sugar Land, TX; Janet (Kent) Scharmer of Hector, MN; and Becky (Jim) Decker of Green Bay, WI. Charlotte was blessed with 12 grandchildren (Christine Huebener, Jonathan {Brenda} Huebener, Sarah Huebener, Joshua Huebener, Aaron {Rachel} Powell, Staci {Jonathan} Smith, Matthew Powell, Nathan {Kara} Scharmer, Karissa Scharmer, Cassie Scharmer, Andy Decker, and Bridget Decker), 5 step-grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, 4 step-great grandchildren, and 1 step-great-great grandchild who all loved her dearly. She was preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Edith Sill; two sisters, Grace Hogue and Phyllis Legg; one brother, Keith Sill; one granddaughter, Catherine Huebener; and one great-grandson, Gavin Scharmer. .

Charlotte Marie Erickson

January 31, 1926 - October 27, 2014