Obituary of Robert C Erickson

Robert C. Erickson of Clifton, passed away at a Bangor nursing home Oct. 9, 2013, after a long illness. He was 92. Born June 27, 1921, in Glen Ridge, N.J., he was the son of Siegfried and Marion (Conover) Erickson. He graduated from Verona High School in New Jersey in 1939. That same year Bob was employed with the Fireman's Insurance Company in Newark, N.J. A veteran of World War II, he served in the U.S. Army from 1940 to 1945 in the Aleutian Islands and Italy, spending two years with the 199th Field Artillery Battalion and three years with the famed 10th Mountain Division. He was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific and the European Medals with three Battle Stars and two Bronze Stars. From 1947 to 1951, he served in the New Jersey National Guard and was discharged at the rank of Sergeant Major. After the war, he worked as a trade carpenter, a carpenter foreman and a building superintendent of construction. He was a full-time representative of The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, serving as District Secretary of the Essex County New Jersey District Council. Under President Lyndon Johnson's Administration he was an active member of a National Political Action Committee. He was also employed as a purchasing agent with the John Langenbacher Company in Bronx, N.Y., and the Walter Kidde Construction Company where he assisted in building the Tuy Hoa Air Base in Vietnam during the Vietnam War. In later years, he was a technical assistant acting as a liaison between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Dept. of Manpower and Development State Training and the Massachusetts Building and Construction Trades Council-AFL/CIO, where he was involved with prevailing wage rates for workers. Employed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, he acted as a general construction inspector along with being a political advisor to then Governor Francis Sargent. A former Mason and Shriner, he was also a 60-year member of The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America. In 1985 he retired to Clifton, where he was a great lover of the trees on his property. He was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, with his current post the Issac Clewley Post 4917 in Brewer. Bob is survived by his loving wife, Marlene (Stitham) Erickson of Clifton; and his only brother, Philip Erickson of Plattsburg, N.Y. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Searle (Hogg) Erickson. He was also predeceased by two sons, Gary and Randy; and by his sister, Ellen Cunningham. He is survived by three sons, Jeffrey W. and his wife, Beth, of Canton, Mass., John A. and his wife, Diane, of Milton, Mass., and William and his wife, Gloria, of Tiverton, R.I.; and four daughters, Barbara Hoagland of Hollywood, Fla., Pamela Ellis and her husband, Al, of Roswell, Ga., Wendy Erickson Wilbur and her husband, Cliff, of Bangor, and Kimba Erickson and her partner, Cat, of Quincy, Mass. He leaves behind 16 grandchildren, Annette Medor of Burlington, Vt., Danny Erickson of Canton, Mass., Kristin Erickson of Easton, Mass., Andy Erickson of Duxbury, Mass., Gary Erickson of Easton, Mass., Elizabeth Hoagland of Brooklyn, N.Y., Kate Hoagland of Los Angeles, David Hoagland of Washington, D.C., Christopher Hoagland of North Carolina, Connor, Kait, and Emily Erickson, all of Canton, Mass., Deanna Wilbur of Bangor, Nicky Hoagland of Los Angeles, Monica Wilbur of Bangor, and Ava Erickson of Tiverton, R.I. He was also the proud great-grandfather of Amberly, Kiley, and Brady Erickson of Duxbury, Mass., Luke and Natalie Erickson of Canton, Mass., and Lilly Erickson of Easton, Mass. He is also survived by three stepsons, Robbie Harper of Clifton, Michael Harper of Sanford, and Daniel Harper of Tallahassee, Fla. A memorial service will be held at 9 a.m. Oct. 12, at Clifton Baptist Church, 742 Airline Road, Clifton. In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob's memory may be made to Clifton Baptist Church.