George Gerhart Erickson

George Gerhart Erickson passed away on September 14th, 2021 in Whittier, California. He was 90 years old and suffered from prostate cancer.
George was born on April 21, 1931 at the Huntington Park Maternity Cottage in Huntington Park, California. His parents were George and Marion Erickson. George had two younger brothers, Charles (Bob) Erickson, and Paul Erickson.
When George was 4 the family moved to Bell, CA. He attended schools in Bell and graduated from Bell High School in February, 1949.
George joined the Navy at the age of 17 in February 1949. He was in Boot Camp in San Diego from Feb. 1949-May 1949, then Electronics School on Treasure Island from May 1949-March 1950. The Korean War began in June of 1950, so Truman extended his service 1 year. He served on NAS Whidbey Island, Washington from March 1950-Sept 1951. George was in Sasebo, Japan Sept. 1951-Feb.1953 on the repair ships Hector AR-7, Ajax AR-6, and Jason ARH-1. He received an honorable discharge from the Navy in Feb. 1953.
After working at North American Aviation until Sept. 1953 he attended East Los Angeles Junior College from Sept. 1953-June 1956. He attended the University of California at Berkeley from Sept. 1956 until he graduated in June of 1958 with a degree in Electrical Engineering.
George worked for Sperry Gyroscope in Sunnyvale from the Fall of 1958 until Feb. 1961. In the Fall of 1958, while taking a class at San Jose State University, George met Florence Elizabeth Stevenson. They were married on April 5, 1959 and bought their first home in San Jose a few months later. In 1961 George started working at Lockheed Missile & Systems Division and worked there until his retirement in 1994.
In 1960 George became a father to Barbara Elizabeth Erickson, followed by James Robert Erickson in 1962 and Anne Helen Erickson in 1967.
In 1996 George retired and he and Florence moved into a retirement community in Roseville, CA. They built a home on a golf course, which was bliss for George. They enjoyed their golfing retirement for 20 years until Florence began needing quite a bit of care due to Alzheimer's disease. In 2016 they moved to a Senior Care Facility in Whitter, CA so their daughter, Barbara, could look after them.
George is survived by his brother, Paul, and his children, Barbara and Jim. He is also survived by his six grandsons Jeffrey, Dustin, Brandon, Daniel, Steven, and Trey, and 3 great grandchildren, Logan, Jaden and Elaina. George is predeceased by his wife Florence, his brother Bob, and his youngest daughter Anne who passed away in December 2020.