Sara Blanchard Erickson

Erickson, Sara Blanchard passed away June 5, 2013 in Davidson, North Carolina. She was buried at the Veteran's Administration Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina on June 10, 2013, joining her husband Robert F. Erickson, veteran of World War II and Korea, who died in 2006. Sally was the daughter of Ralph Harris Blanchard and Margaret Hooker Blanchard, born July 5, 1925 in Niagara Falls, New York. She was educated at Earlham College, Cornell University and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville where she received a Master's Degree in Speech Therapy. She was employed as a speech therapist by the State of Illinois, and following retirement, continued to work with her husband in a volunteer capacity at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis until their move to Davidson, North Carolina in 2005. She was preceded in death by her husband, Robert F. Erickson, professor of European History, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville in 2006, her sister Susan B. Bliss in 2008, and her son Jeffrey Stuart Erickson, art curator at Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina in 2011. Graveside services were attended by her sons Peter Finn Erickson and wife Jane Russell Erickson of Alexandria, Virginia, Philip Ralph Erickson and partner Penny Hauffe of Reston, Virginia, daughter-in law Linda Yachnes Erickson of Davidson, North Carolina and grandchildren Maggie Brett-Bowen, Sydney Erickson, Sarah Erickson and Jack Erickson. Also in attendance were nieces Pamela O'Neill, Sara Morris, Alice Bliss, nephew Daniel Bliss, and their families. She received the loving care and support of her daughter-in-law, Linda Erickson through the final years of her life. She will be remembered for raising three boys through the tumultuous 60's and creating a stimulating household in Collinsville, Illinois frequented by artists, intellectuals, historians, foreign students and would-be-philosophers. She was a lover of jazz and classical music and was frequently heard playing Chopin's preludes on piano at the Collinsville home. She was an avid follower of the St. Louis Symphony, a lover of birds, the Rowayton beach on Long Island sound, the art museums of Chicago and New York City, and the Metropolitan opera. A fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, she always held a special place in her heart for the Brooklyn Dodgers (Dem Bums) and taught her sons early in life to keep score at baseball games dating back to the old Busch Stadium on Grand Boulevard in St. Louis. Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home & Cremation Service is assisting the family. Friends may offer condolences the family at www.raymerfh.com