Patricia Erickson

PEABODY - Patricia (Cook) Erickson of Peabody, formerly of Arlington and North Cambridge, was taken too soon at 79 by the insidious disease Alzheimer's. She was the loving wife of George "Bill" Erickson. They met at a chance encounter outside of Sonny's pool hall in Cambridge, senior year of high school. What followed was 61 years of devoted love, almost 58 of them married. 

She also leaves behind her beloved son Keith Erickson and his wife Melissa and her two grandchildren Gavin and Emma Erickson, all of Wilmington; her dear sisters Cynthia White and her husband John of Chelmsford and Susan Molloy and her son Devin Underwood of Lynn. Pat was smart and very creative and very caring. 

She was a nurse at Boston City Hospital in the early 70's, working in the Neonatal Unit with newborns entering life under the worst circumstances imaginable. She decided to return to school and got her bachelor's at UMASS Boston, commuting to the downtown campus every day by bus and train. She followed that with a Master's degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education, with a concentration in Corporate Education. She then began a long career in IT, managing the creation of corporate "Intranets" when companies were just beginning to use microcomputers in addition to mainframes. She worked at a number of major Corporations including Blue Cross, Corning, Novartis, Fresenius and Staples, always climbing the ladder with each job change. She finished her career as a Senior Project Manager at Staples. 

She was an artist, designing and creating jewelry, mostly concentrating in metal, usually copper. She had a studio at Joy Street Studios in Somerville and had a company, Mystic River Designs for jewelry sales. She was an avid photographer with a keen eye for nature. Many of her detailed photos of flowers and fruits adorn the walls of our house. She also learned how to work with stained glass and created some beautiful pieces for personal use hanging at home. She was a problem solver at all levels. After giving birth by Cesarean section, she joined a small group of other women and formed a 503(C)(3) nonprofit organization called C-SEC (Cesarean Section, Education and Concern). They held conferences and lobbied hospitals and doctors directly to change the rules in force at the time regarding cesarean births, mainly not allowing fathers in the OR during the births, and putting the newborns in the NICU unit next to all the tiny premature babies, all unnecessary. Those issues, along with other practices got changed due to their efforts. 

Pat was a "cat mom", always having one or two shelter adopted cats throughout her marriage. She also volunteered at the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem for a while. She was a "Big Sister" to a young girl in the early 70's. There were trips to Rome to stay with very close relatives on her mother Ines' side of the family, having been born in Florence. She loved traveling to warmer climes, mostly Florida and Aruba (her favorite) to find warm water and miles-long beaches to walk, but she also cherished her summer Sunday morning walks with Bill at Revere Beach, looking for sea glass and shells, and wading in the water. They started their day with a Dunk's coffee and donut and then a Kelly's "lobsta" roll for lunch! 

Funeral services for Patricia are private.   Arrangements by O’Donnell – Cremations – Funerals – Celebrations, 167 Maple Street, (Rte. 62) DANVERS. Condolences at www.odonnellfuneralservice.com.