Colleen Delores Erickson (November 4, 1929-December 4, 2017) Colleen Erickson, age 88, passed away peacefully on December 4, 2017 at Sanford Hospital, Fargo, ND. She was born November 4, 1929, in Grand Forks, ND, to Ernest and Bertha (Dahle) Peterson. She attended Grand Forks Public Schools and was confirmed at United Lutheran Church, Grand Forks. After high school she attended Mayville State Teachers College and in 1949 began teaching grades 7 and 8 at Hamilton, ND. On July 19, 1950 she married E. Myron Erickson at First Lutheran Church, Fargo, ND, and they made a home on a farm east of Cooperstown, ND. Colleen taught at Shephard country school for a short time after they were married. They had three daughters, and when the girls were in elementary school, Colleen returned to Mayville State College to earn a B.S. Degree, majoring in business education and English. Following graduation she held a teaching position at Cooperstown Public Schools, teaching junior high English, social studies, and various business classes from 1966-1980. The family attended Ness Lutheran Church, a small country church, where Colleen led the choir. They joined Trinity Lutheran church in Cooperstown after the country church closed. In 1968 the family moved their house from the farm to a site in Cooperstown, ND, while Myron continued to farm and Colleen teach. Myron passed away in 1988, and Colleen continued her hobbies of genealogy, completing the research on all four family lines; gardening; cooking and baking. Colleen was active in the women’s groups of each church she attended. In 1995 she enjoyed a trip to Norway and Sweden, her mother’s and father’s homelands, visiting many of the places she’d studied through genealogy. Colleen moved from Cooperstown to Oakes, ND, in 2001 to be closer to family. While living in Oakes she was a member of Grace Lutheran Church and enjoyed the company of many new friends. She followed her daughter’s move to Jamestown, ND in 2008, transferred church membership to Atonement Lutheran and made her home there until the summer of 2017, when she moved to a care center in Fargo, ND. Colleen is survived by two daughters, Diane (Bill) Weispfenning, Jamestown, ND, and Pamela (Curt) Sommer, Fargo, ND; a son-in-law, Glenn Roemen, Sherman, SD; three siblings, Alma Peterson, Tacoma, WA; Clarence Peterson, Grand Forks, ND; and Dona Peterson, Grand Forks, ND; three brothers-in-law, General Theodore Crichton, Greensboro, NC; Duane Svanes, Kintyre, ND; and James Karas, Pembina, ND; four grandchildren, Ryan (Anna) Weispfenning, Blaine, MN; Michael Weispfenning, Bloomington, MN; Amy (Nick) Rosevear, Denver, CO; and Greg (Shelby) Sommer; Maple Grove, MN; five great-grandchildren, William, Christian, and Katherine Weispfenning and Clara and Madeline Sommer; and several nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her husband; mother and father; daughter, Carol Roemen; sisters Evelyn Wolfgram, Stella Crichton, Beverly Rabehl, and Frances Svanes; and infant brother. Family visitation will be Saturday, December 9, from 12:30-1:45PM, preceding a funeral service at 2:00 PM at Trinity Lutheran Church, Cooperstown, ND, with Pastor Rick Hall officiating. Burial will be at Ness Cemetery, Cooperstown, ND. To send a flower arrangement or to plant trees in memory of COLLEEN D. ERICKSON, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.