Obituary: Gertrude (Kerttu) Miriam Erickson
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Gertrude (Kerttu) Miriam Erickson passed away with her family by her side on Tuesday, April 23 at Inter-Faith Care Center in Carlton. Gert was born on January 29, 1932, to Charles and Anna (Korpela) Maki. Gert was married to Wesley Erickson on August 2, 1958, and together for over 60 years, they built their home in Esko and were blessed with four children.
Gert was a proud graduate of Cloquet High School, class of 1950. Following graduation, she worked in labeling at the Cloquet papermill until 1958. Once her children were in school, Gert worked in bookkeeping for the Cloquet Transit Bus Company and proudly worked for the Labovitz family of Duluth for 27 years until retirement.
Gertrude was a devoted Christian and a member of the Cloquet Gospel Tabernacle, now known as Journey Christian Church. She served in many
roles, starting with physically helping with the construction of the current building, Sunday
School secretary, participating in ladies’ groups working in the kitchen for weddings,
funerals, and many other social occasions. She took great pride in providing snacks for the
Kids Klub ministry making cookies, bars, and her special homemade glazed donuts. Gert
was also active in the missions group and financially supported many missionaries in hope
of spreading God’s word. Gert loved to be outdoors and used any excuse to be outside, even
if it meant piling wood. She was a hard worker! She loved gardening and had sunflowers
and hollyhocks as tall as she was. She loved being active and being physically fit, walking
and biking hundreds of miles on Thompson Road, cross country skiing on the Midway River
in her backyard and even attending aerobic classes into her 80s. She also enjoyed music
and was a member in the Finnish choir traveling around the community sharing the love of
her Finnish heritage. Gert and her husband Wes hosted several AFS students and
developed a very special bond with a boy from Brazil named Paulo. Gert loved her family
and enjoyed cheering on her children and grandchildren at all their activities and sporting
events. She enjoyed watching the Minnesota Vikings and would wear her favorite player’s
jersey, Jared Allen, proudly telling us he was a Christian.
Gertrude is survived by her children, Carol (Larry) Szyman of Hudson, Wisconsin, Paul
Erickson of Esko, Shari (Mark) Tollerud of Cloquet, and Terry (Dawn) Erickson of Duluth;
11 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren; siblings, Myrtle Wirtanen of Cloquet, Sue
Weets of Cloquet; sister-in-law, Nancy Maki; and many other family and friends. She was
preceded in death by her husband, Wesley; her parents; and brothers, Allen Maki and Roy
Maki.
The family is extremely grateful for the kindness and care provided to Gert by the staff at
Inter-Faith Care Center and also a special thank you to St. Croix hospice for their comfort
and peace they provided Gert and family in her final days.
A memorial service will be held Monday, June 10th at Journey Church in Cloquet. A
visitation will start at 10 a.m. followed by the 11 a.m. service with a luncheon to follow.
Arrangements are entrusted to Nelson Funeral Care of Cloquet.
