One time when I was feeling like we weren't making any progress in our efforts, he called me out of the blue to tell me that we were doing exactly what we'd been asked to do and that we could do no more than that. He would do that...he'd just randomly call me with ideas and questions. My little job in the church and his oversight of it was something he took very seriously.
As I learned more about his life, my respect for him grew. I have attached his obituary (below) so you can see how wonderful he was for yourself! He told me about his recollection of Pearl Harbor Day. He was in the cafeteria at Yale. When he hear the news, he told me that he went to the Dean of the Divinity School and withdrew from the University. There was no question in his mind that he would be needed by his country, and he returned almost immediately out West. He then applied for a position as chaplain in the US Army. This process was most rigorous. He related to me the dissertation that he had to write to even be considered for the position. He then went to Fort Douglas (by the University of Utah) to defend his dissertation. He told me how intensive the process was and how the committee really put him through the ringer. He was accepted as one of the only LDS chaplains in the US Army (if not the only one...I would have to go back and look at the records.)
He told me about his time in Saipan. My two great Uncles served near him on the island of Tinian. There is a short history about his experiences that is typed and is available in the 12th Ward Library. I need to go get a copy. He told me that he personally wrote a letter to the family of every soldier who died. That touched my heart deeply. If you knew Brother Ericksen, you would know that these letters must have included the most sincerest of sentiments and most heartfelt words of love.
I remember when one of his adult children passed away. We had a ward council meeting that morning, and it was announced to the council. Brother Ericksen was at that meeting. There were several of us on the council who openly wept. We had never met his child, but for me, the though of such a loss....for a man that I cared deeply for...struck me at my very soul. It was a seemingly irrational reaction considering the circumstances, but I suppose that I can say that I loved Brother Ericksen, and I was hurting because I knew that he hurt.
I'm so grateful that I got to know this man. I haven't been in that ward for over 8 years, by I asked my friend Sara Merrill to keep me apprised of his situation. I wanted to know when he passed because I think if I listen very carefully that I can hear concourses of angels welcoming him and applauding when he gets to see his dear wife again. I look forward to a day where we are all hanging out on the other side of the veil swapping life stories. I would love to hear more detail about his WWII experiences. I would love to introduce him to my uncles (who fortunately have not yet passed). I look forward to that experience....someday. I hope you take the time to read about his life. He was truly a great man.
**Gerald Leland Ericksen "Together again" Gerald Leland Ericksen, our loving and ever-cheerful father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died peacefully January 9, 2011, at 96 years of age. He was born March 17, 1914, in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, to Erick Henry and Annie Christina Monsen Ericksen, the youngest of nine children.
His father died when Jerry was 14 years old, just before the Great Depression hit. He and his widowed mother struggled through the depression together. Jerry never made excuses or felt his life was hard, but faced each day with optimism and smiled as he moved forward.
Jerry never met a stranger and was a born leader, serving as the president of his high school, Snow College, and in many leadership positions throughout his long and productive life. He graduated from BYU and then started graduate work at the Yale Divinity School in the fall of 1941. His education was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II and he served as an Army Chaplain in the Pacific theater, including extensive service on the island of Saipan. He was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service.
After the war he was recruited into the life insurance business by Sterling W. Sill. He was the General Manager of the Utah Office of the New York Life Insurance Company for 20 years.
Jerry married the love of his life, Erna Mary Sconberg, July 8, 1942, in San Francisco, California, while he was in training on an army base. They had met two years earlier at the Grand Canyon, where he was a bell hop and played trombone in the band, and she was a waitress. Their marriage was solemnized the following year in the Salt Lake Temple.
Jerry's professional work took them to New York, California, and then back to Utah. They had been married for 66 years when Erna died March 13, 2009. He always treated her like a queen, and called her his "livin'doll." Their love and consideration for each other was an inspiration to their family, and to all who knew them.
Jerry loved the Savior and served in many capacities in the LDS Church, including as a missionary in the Southern States Mission from 1935 to 1937, and as president of the Salt Lake Emigration Stake.
Upon his retirement from New York Life he and Erna presided over the Connecticut Hartford Mission from 1979 to 1982. They loved New England and their missionaries, and treasured those relationships the rest of their lives.
At age 83 Jerry was called into a bishopric for the first time in his life, and served for six years. In all of his assignments his smile, sense of humor, organized approach, and love for people made him effective in his work, and loved by those who knew him.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, his wife, daughter Mimi Ericksen, and son Robert Ericksen, who died three days before Jerry's passing. He is survived by three of his children: Karen (David) Fuhriman, David (Irene) Ericksen, and Eric (Kathy) Ericksen, as well as 14 grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, January 15, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. at the Federal Heights Ward chapel located at 1300 East Fairfax Road. Friends may call Friday, January 14, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Larkin Mortuary at 260 East South Temple, as well as at the ward prior to the service, from 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Interment will be at the Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park, 3401 South Highland Drive. The family wishes to thank the VA Nursing Home for their care of our father, as well as Frankie Loftus and Dr. Jane McPherson of Utah Hospice Specialists.
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