Floyd William Erickson

Floyd William Erickson was born on the 30th of April, 1940, in Centralia, Washington to Lauri Erickson and Vivian Widell-Erickson. His sister Lora “Lori” Erickson-Dempsey was born 6 years later. Floyd married Myrna Rhyne-Erickson on July 28th, 1961, a marriage that would stand the test of time for 61 years, 11 months, and 6 days. They had two daughters, Diane and Jodi. Diane married Dani Coutts and raised Dani’s two sons, Joshua and Jeremiah. Jodi and her husband Neil White have two sons, Trevor and Kyle. Jeremiah and his wife Susan have Floyd’s only great-grandson, Daniel.

Floyd was raised on a ranch in Independence Valley with his parents and his grandfather Charles Erickson. The ranch was purchased in 1902 by Charles after he immigrated from Finland. Floyd was 100% Finn and proud of it. He would graduate from Rochester High School in the Class of 1958 and move to Seattle thereafter, where he worked at Boeing for 6 months. For the rest of his life, Floyd would remark that leaving the company was the best thing that had ever happened to him. Upon returning home, Floyd met Myrna and began a lifetime of happiness for both of them. In 1959, Floyd joined the National Guard and did Army boot camp in California at Fort Ord and 3 months in Tank school in Fort Knox, Kentucky. In total, Floyd served with the National Guard for 6 years. When he returned from his service, he went to work at Centralia Plywood.

Floyd and Myrna were engaged on the 12th of September, 1960 and were married the following 28th of July, 1961 in Centralia. Floyd worked at Centralia Plywood until 1965 when Centralia City Light finally hired him after 3 years of applications. He began his apprenticeship and became a power lineman, a job he loved and of which he was very proud. After 30 years of service, Floyd retired to join Myrna and built a retirement home on the property where he grew up in Independence Valley. Over the next 23 years, they shared many adventures, including 12 cruises, a trip to Finland to visit relatives with Jodi and Neil, and numerous camping and motorhome trips, including cross-country trips to visit friends and family.

Floyd loved to dig clams and fish in the Toutle River, the ocean, on the Straights, Alaska, and  anywhere there was enough water. His fishing buddies were Bill Orr, Jim Walker, and Steve Erickson and his family. His lifetime of forest management was rewarded in 2015 when he was named Farm Forester of the Year by the Lewis County Farm Forestry Association. Over the years, Floyd loved supporting his daughters and grandchildren in their sports, band performances, and all manner of activities. Floyd was a kind, quiet, and gentle man but would let no one put him down either. He is now in heaven having a beer with Jim Walker and Bill Orr, 3 angels looking down on us all.

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