In Memory

Bessie 'Betty Lou' Taylor (Erikson) - Class Of 1939

Bessie 'Betty Lou' Taylor (Erikson)

Betty Lou Erikson, 89, of Davenport and Eldridge, Iowa, died August 11, 2009, at the home of her son and daughter-in-law in Shakopee, Minnesota.

Betty Lou Taylor was born December 25, 1919, to Kenneth and Elsie Retchwein Taylor in Victorville, California.  She attended college in Pasadena where she obtained her credentials as a Registered Nurse.  During World War II she served in the United States Army as a lst Lieutenant.  During her military obligations, she married Roland E. Erikson in 1947 in Japan and moved from California to Davenport, Iowa.  He preceded her in death in 2005.

Mrs. Erikson worked for many years as a surgical nurse.  She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Eldridge, and also the Scott County Medical Auxiliary.

Survivors include her daughter, Sandra Erikson of Minneapolis; four sons, Rex Erikson of Raleigh, North Carolina, Karl (Michele) Erikson of Shakopee, Minnesota, Nils (Lynda) Erikson of Pensacola, Florida, and Jon Erikson, also of Minneapolis; five grandchildren; and one great grandchild.  In addition to her husband and her parents, she was preceded in death by a sister, Dorothy, and three brothers, Richard, Robert, and William (SPHS '38).

The Quad-City Times, August 17, 2009