Obituary: Erickson, Joan Vay (Collison)
Age 72
Loving wife, mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, great-grand- mother, sister, aunt, and friend, she will be greatly missed.
Joan was born on April 4th, 1943, in Deaconess Hospital of Spokane, Washington.
She was raised in Opportunity, Washington, as the youngest of four children, to Joe and Vay Collison.
She attended schools within the Opportunity area and graduated from Central Valley High School in 1961.
Later that year, she met the love of her life, Vern Erickson, of Whitefish, Montana, at a New Years Eve Party.
She and Vern were married on August 25th, 1962.
Vern and Joan settled into the Shadle Park area of Spokane, WA, to raise their family.
Joan loved crafts of all kinds, garage sale hopping, and was an avid quilter, but nothing gave her more enjoyment than doting on her family.
Joan could always be found wherever her children were.
Whether it was volunteering in their classrooms, helping to upstart a kindergarten class for her son and his friends, involvement in PTA, sports, or whatever they were doing, she was there to help and encourage them.
When her oldest son, Mark, decided to give Cub Scouts (and later Boy Scouts) a try, she became a den mother.
She would end up holding many leadership positions within Cub Scouting through the years, training new leaders, and being awarded the Thunderbird District Award of Merit here in Spokane for the Inland Northwest Council, Boy Scouts of America.
She had the joy of seeing both of her sons go on to become Eagle Scouts.
Later, as the grandchildren came along, she attended as many births, birthdays, performances, graduations, activities, and sporting events as possible, traveling out of state when needed.
She was their greatest cheerleader.
Joan outlived her parents, Joe and Vay Collison of Opportunity; her brother, Larry Collison of Rockford, WA; and two of her five children: Lisa Beth Erickson (born and died in 1964) of Spokane, and Mark Alan Erickson (1965-2009) of Wasilla, AK.
She is survived by her husband, Vern; her daughter, Laura Vay (Lori) Erickson Caraway of Spokane; her daughter, Cheryl Lynn (Cheri) Erickson Jones of Clackamas, OR; and her son, Vernon Joseph (Joe) Erickson of Hood River, OR.
; as well as her brother, Richard Collison of Greenacres, WA, and her brother, Robert Collison of Gladstone, OR.
Joan will also be greatly missed by her 18 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, all of whom meant more to her than anything in this world.
Joan’s family would like to express their gratitude and thank all who provided comfort and care to Joan during her long illness.
There will be a Celebration of Life to honor Joan on Saturday, November 21st, 2015 from 10am-1pm at Valley Real Life, 1831 S. Barker Rd., Greenacres, WA 99016.
Her family would like to invite anyone who loved Joan to attend.