Arthur “Swede” Erickson, 96, joined his wife Myrna in their heavenly home on Thursday, May 9, 2024.  Art was born August 15, 1927 in Kansas City, MO to Arthur Sr. and Leona Erickson. He grew up in the Chapman, KS area and attended school in Pearl. After his father passed the family moved into town  where Art attended grade and high school and graduated from Dickinson County Community High School with the class of 1945.

Art spent the rest of 1945 and 1946 in the US Army serving in the Shemya, Aleutian Islands.  He joined the American Legion Post 240 and was a member for over 75 years.   After being discharged from the service he worked on a dredge, pumping gravel from Kansas rivers.

On October 2, 1955 Art married the most wonderful lady in the world by the name of Myrna Alice Shane and bought a 19 ft trailer house for their first home.   Art then went to work for Salina  Manufacturing Company operating a crane. He did crane work on all 12 Atlas sites around the Salina and adjourning area, also pouring concrete and setting the steel on the Iron Ave bridge in Salina.  He also set the towers for the Crested Butte Sky Lift in Crested Butte, CO plus many other jobs in the area.  Art moved on to install pneumatic equipment at Salina Manufacturing and retired from Premier Pneumatics in 1993.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 56 years, Myrna on July 26,  2012; sister, Berniece O’Reilly and husband Mike and son Mike Jr.; sister, Annabell Skelton and husband Jack and son Larry; brother, Lyman; and nephew, Ronald Wilkerson.

Art is survived by his “Adopted  Daughter” Carie King (Bob); nieces, Kelly Korb (Martin), Sharon Dawes (Lloyd), Nancy Oliver (Howard), Barbara Goldfish, Kay Moore (Robert), Janice Wilkerson, Nona Boyd (Brian), Sylvia Weinberg (David), Marsha Wiegert; nephews, Jack Skelton (Debbie), Richard Skelton (Sharon), Steven Koppenheffer, Gale Cynova (Elainea), and numerous other family members and cousins.

Art and Myrna were given a wonderful and joyous life by our Lord and Savior.  His last wishes for remaining family members are to love everyone as our Lord loves you.

Visitation will be from 10 – 11 a.m. Monday, May 13, 2024 at Trinity Lutheran Church, 702 S. 9th St, Salina. Funeral services will follow at 11 a.m. at the church with burial that afternoon in Highland Cemetery, Junction City.

Memorials to Trinity Lutheran Church or the Lutheran Radio Hour.