Ella Irene Erickson
was born on March 6, 1920 in Madison, Wisconsin. She died peacefully with family at her side in Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center on January 21, 2021.
Ella Johnson grew up on a farm in Klevenville, Wisconsin, served in the Women’s Marine Corps during World War II – stationed in Washington, D.C. – and at war’s end married Victor Erickson, who had served in the U.S. Army in Italy and died in 2003. They made their home in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where she raised four children and worked at Wheaton College and Central DuPage Hospital. Ella and Vic moved to Florida in 1983. She spent her last 13 years at Lake Morton Plaza in Lakeland.
Ella is survived by four children – Vic Jr., Jerry, Gloria and Randy – plus five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Among the highlights of Ella’s life was her 100th birthday, when she threw out the first pitch and was honored as “Military Hero of the Game” at Tiger Town in Lakeland.
A memorial service will be held at Lake Morton Plaza in the near future.
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