Elizabeth (Libby) Ericson

Elizabeth (Libby) Leonard Ericson passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Santa Fe on November 5, with her sons nearby. She was 96. Libby was born in Tampa, Florida and moved with her family to Boulder, Colorado when she was 12 years old. She married Eric Ericson, of Brooklyn, New York, while they were students at the University of Colorado. After graduation, they left Boulder to pursue Eric's career in exploration petroleum geology and spent five years in Texas and Louisiana where two of their sons were born.

In 1956 they decided on a foreign career with Gulf Oil. Their first foreign assignment was in Cochabamba, Bolivia, for four challenging years during the political instability following the 1952 revolution, and where their third son was born. Then followed three years in the Basque city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, and three years in Lagos, Nigeria, where Libby was a teacher at the American International School of Lagos. Immediately before the Biafran War the family moved to New Orleans for three years during which time Libby taught English to Cuban refugees.

The family accepted a final foreign assignment to Sydney, Australia for five years, and in 1977 they returned to Boulder, the town they considered home, and where their sons also attended CU. Libby was an active neighborhood representative in the development of North Boulder from 1978 until 1992. She was also a volunteer translator for Spanish speaking women at the North Boulder Women's Clinic for several years and a volunteer instructor of English for spouses of Spanish speaking students through the Boulder Friends of International Students Program at the University.

Since 1995, she and Eric have spent their winters in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and summers in Peaceful Valley, Colorado. Libby loved Santa Fe, where she pursued her artwork, particularly painting watercolors of the Farmers Market scene and Rocky Mountain landscapes. She loved Spanish and Native American culture, and had a passionate interest in worldwide politics, being a regular member of the Council on International Relations. She and Eric coauthored a book 'An Oil Geologist Abroad-Exploration with Family', about their foreign life from 1956 to 1966, which was published in 2011.

She was predeceased by their beloved son, John, and by her husband of 65 years, Eric, in October 2015. She is survived by her sons, Paul and Mark, her daughter-in-law, Lahly, granddaughters Flynn and Giselle, who were born and raised in Santa Fe, and several nieces and nephews. As per her wishes, cremation has taken place and no memorial services are planned.