Newell Erickson

1923 - 2010

NEWELL H. ERICKSON Newell H. Erickson, age 87, of Moreno Valley, passed away November 25, 2010. He was born August 9, 1923 in Leslie, Idaho to Victor Eugene Erickson and Julia Dorthea Bladh Erickson. Newell was raised in the Riverside area where he met his loving wife, Ruth Capes Erickson. They were married in Riverside, CA in 1949 and later sealed for time and eternity in the LDS Manti Temple. They moved to Altadena/Pasadena where they reared their family and lived for 46 years. During the past 7 years, he and his wife resided in Moreno Valley. His children are Leslie Bettwieser, David (Lauren) Erickson, Nancy (Greg) Allbee, Lisa (Neil) Harrison, and Beth Erickson. He is well loved by his 14 grandchildren, Christian, Stephen, Summer, Brooke, Lara, Emma, Jeff, Mike, Katie, Allison, Alexis, Rachel, Bryn, and Eric. Newell was blessed to enjoy 26 great-grandchildren. Newell attended Poly High School in Riverside, Brigham Young University, and earned his master\'s degree at USC. He was a veteran of World War II serving in Wales, France, and Germany. Newell served three missions for his church: one in Sweden as a young man, another with his wife in the Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City, and the third as employment specialists in Moreno Valley. As a social worker, he had a positive impact on those he served. Most significantly, he worked as the director at Five Acres, a children\'s residential treatment center in Altadena for 15 years. In 1988, he retired from working for the Los Angeles Regional Center. He had a passion for making family connections through genealogy. During the past 3 years Newell was heavily involved in extracting historical Norwegian farm records for worldwide internet use. Most of all, Newell enjoyed his family. He shared with them his spiritual strength, a love for his Swedish heritage, his humor, and countless memories of family outings and experiences. He loved the outdoors, and with his family, he traveled and camped through every state, much of Canada, and many countries in Europe. A funeral service will be held in his honor Today, 11/30/10. The viewing will be at 9:00 a.m. With the service following at 10:00 a.m., both at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 23300 Old Lake Dr., Moreno Valley, CA. Interment will be at Crestlawn Cemetery in Riverside, CA.