Obituary
In Loving Memory
Our Mom
November 4, 1935 – September 24, 2025
✦ ✦ ✦
My siblings and I want to celebrate the life of a woman who made the world kinder simply by being in it. Our mom was born on November 4, 1935, in Orofino, Idaho — a small town that would shape her deep roots, her quiet strength, and her love for the people around her.
She grew up in the Hayes family, the daughter of Frank and Grace Hayes. Her childhood was marked by both joy and loss. Her older brother Donald — Bub, as she always called him — was taken far too soon in a logging accident, a grief she carried gently for the rest of her life. But she carried it the way she carried everything hard: with grace, and without complaint.
✦ ✦ ✦
It was in Orofino where she met Donald Erickson, the man she would marry, and together they began a family — bringing Jer, Jim, Linda, Laurie, and Joseph into the world. Her parents, Grandma and Grandpa Hayes, were close by in those early years, and that nearness mattered to her. Family was everything.
In 1970, our family made the move to Estacada, Oregon — a new chapter, a new place to put down roots. Grandma and Grandpa followed not long after, once everyone was settled. That was just how our family worked. You didn't leave people behind.
Life brought changes, as it always does. After the divorce, Mom found herself raising her children largely on her own (with help from her parents). She never made us feel like a burden. She simply rolled up her sleeves and got to work — because that's who she was.
✦ ✦ ✦
For years, Mom poured herself into caring for the elderly, a calling that suited her perfectly. She had a gift for making people feel seen and valued, especially those the world sometimes overlooked. She also gave countless hours volunteering at Loaves and Fishes, feeding neighbors who needed a warm meal and a kind face.
People who knew Mom well will tell you the same thing: she would do anything for anybody. And people who had only just met her wanted more of her — more of her warmth, her humor, her presence. She had the kind of soul that made a room feel safer. She loved deeply and without condition.
In her quieter moments, you would find her in the front yard visiting with neighbors, friends and family. Also, drawn to her warmth, she could be seen feeding the neighborhood farm animals, including an occasional cow, pig or goat, that had found their way to her as if she was their home away from home.
✦ ✦ ✦
She leaves behind a family that is a testament to the life she built. her five children — Jer, Jim, Linda, Laurie, and Joseph. Though she had already endured the heartbreak of losing her eldest son Jerry before her, she carried him with her always. She also leaves behind sixteen grandchildren. Twenty-two great-grandchildren. And one great-great-grandchild — brand new life that she got to witness enter this world.
Ninety years. What a life. What a legacy.
✦ ✦ ✦
Mom, you taught us how to love without keeping score. You showed us what it looks like to show up — for strangers, for neighbors, for family — without being asked. You were the kind of person this world needs more of, and we are so grateful we got to call you ours.
Rest now. We've got it from here.
Beloved Mother, Grandmother, and Friend