Grace Margean Erickson

Grace Margean Stork Erickson Born May 23, 1925 Died December 12, 2019 Age 94 Grace, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother (ggma), loved all equally and completely. She still had a childhood friend at the time of her death, who she would FaceTime with occasionally. She maintained all of her friends and added new ones throughout her lifetime. Those who knew her called her amazing Grace, or amazing gracious Grace. She loved all, she is loved by all. She has been called a beacon. Family and friends felt embraced by her. Grace was born to N. Clinton Stork and Meda Fairbanks Dyson Stork on May 23, 1925 in Minneapolis. She grew up on Cleveland Avenue in St. Paul with her mother, father, and older sister Mary Lou. They lived upstairs from her grandparents and beloved aunt Florence, an artist, who spent time with Grace, nurturing her evident artistic talent. After 1936? Grace and her family spent summers in Rockford, Minnesota, in an historic home her parents had purchased. They moved to Rockford full time in the 1940’s. Today that home is a museum, the Ames Florida Stork House. The Home remained an important part of her life. She met her husband Gene in 1945 in a snowball fight on the University of Minnesota campus. They married in 1946. She walked across the stage to receive her degree, pregnant with their first child, Steven. They ultimately had 5 children. She had an adventurous spirit, traveling the world over. Summers, they took their family on car trips, coast to coast over the years, camping and stopping at interesting sites along the way. When Gene retired, they built a cabin in the Sangre de Christo mountains in southern Colorado. There, they enjoyed summers fishing, hiking, ad exploring the surrounding area, and of course making long and fast friends. Rec Lab, a Northwoods annual Christian creativity camp Grace attended for many years and later served as president, inspired her work in clay. As she became more engaged in that medium, Gene built her a kiln and a kick wheel. Grace worked tirelessly on usable objects such as plates and cups, completing a set of dinner ware. Following that achievement, Grace, a devout Christian, turned more to sculpture. Her interest in sculpting the human form led her to work with her sister on a program performed locally, The New Creation. Mary Lou played the harp and told the story of the creation and fall, then redemption, of man through Jesus while Grace sculpted clay, ever changing it as the story unfolded. Music was in her soul. Grace played cello, piano, ukulele and guitar. She sang in her church choirs. Family travels were filled with playing music and singing. While living in Idaho from 1957-1963, Grace worked summers with the children of migrant beet harvest families while their parents were in the fields. After the family moved back to Minnesota, Grace volunteered with an organization in Northeast Minneapolis, now called Hospitality House Youth Development. She brought her paints and worked with disadvantaged youth. She ultimately handed down paints and brushes she had received from her Auntie Florence to a promising young man. When their youngest child was in High School, Grace and Gene took in a young immigrant man from Africa, and an immigrant family from Laos. She and Gene cared for them as their own family. Their expanded “adopted family”, including new spouses and children, refer to Grace and Gene as Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa. Grace immersed herself in study of scripture and volunteerism in the churches she attended. Grace was preceded in death by her parents, her son Thomas (Joan), her best friend and sister Mary Lou Woodward (Don), her soulmate and husband Eugene. She is survived by children Steven (Lori), Jill Ewald (Ken), Ann Merrick (Rick), and David (Lucy), daughter-in-law Joan Redmond, 11 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren. Surviving her also are her “adopted families” Abrahim Abaye (Bashadu), Bounthanh Leutbounshou (Bouthanh), Sam Leutbounshou (Jackie), Sopha Pheuanxayavong (Xay), Vantha Eason (Steve), Mana Leutbounshou (Jin), Josh Leutbounshou, Vanna Johnson (Lee), 16 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. Memorials preferred to: The Ames-Florida-Stork House in Rockford Minnesota Northfield Retirement Communities Faith Presbyterian Church, Minnetonka, Minnesota A memorial service will be held 11 AM Friday, December 20, in Faith Presbyterian Church, 12007 Excelsior Blvd W., Minnetonka, MN 55343. Visitation 1 hour prior to the service.

Tributes

Grace Margean Erickson

May 23, 1925 - December 12, 2019

Tributes

Grace Margean Erickson

May 23, 1925 - December 12, 2019

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