Dennis John Erickson

Dennis John Erickson, age 84, passed away on July 29, 2026 in Edina, MN.

Dennis was born on September 2, 1941 in Minneapolis, MN to Martin and Eva Erickson. He grew up in Golden Valley with his brother Ron and sister Ginny. He loved to tell how his father was a welder during WWII, working twelve hour days making the big guns for the war effort. His mother came to know the Lord through the kindness of a neighbor and she brought the family to First Baptist Minneapolis where he learned to love the Lord Jesus as well.

At Golden Valley high school, football and track were his passion and he excelled at them. He often told of missing the state discus meet by a quarter inch (and he suspected bias toward the big schools by the judges).

With the encouragement of a mentor, Dr. Boller, Dennis pursued a forestry degree from the University of Minnesota. After graduation, he volunteered for the Peace Corps and was assigned to serve two years in Pakistan. Right before leaving for Pakistan, he attended an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship canoe trip on the St. Croix River. What happened that day is a story he repeated to every willing and unwilling ear. He said, “When I first saw Lois she was getting out of a 1950 Studebaker and I had an overwhelming sense that this was the person that God had personally selected to be my wife.” Their 60 years of faithful marriage are a testimony of God’s work bringing them together.

After returning from Pakistan, Dennis applied to be an officer in the Army during the Vietnam era. Dennis and Lois were married on May 28, 1966 and four months later he reported to officer training school. Two weeks before being sent to Vietnam, he was informed that no more engineer officers were needed and they were transferred to El Paso, Texas where their first daughter Natalie was born in 1968. He was honorably discharged in July of 1969 and returned to Minnesota. Their son David was born in 1971 and their second daughter Dawn was born in 1972 in St. Louis Park.

Dennis entered the civilian workforce with Honeywell, then became a manager for Minnesota Fabrics, and then an executive with Donahue Enterprises. After 15 years in corporate leadership, he had a strong drive to start his own business. He and Lois started a kitchen cabinet refacing and closet organizer business, which they successfully ran for five years then sold to new ownership. He then began to build wood crafts from his garage, making cedar planter boxes and outdoor furniture, doll furniture, and decorative boxes and baskets. He loved working with wood. He brought his creations to art fairs in Minneapolis/St. Paul and throughout the midwest, selling his products and talking and joking with his customers. He loved to build and he loved to sell. He finished by focusing on building birdhouses. Dennis built tens of thousands of birdhouses over 30 years of time, with an ever-changing variety of designs and decorative styles. While he loved the artistry and craftsmanship of his work, his true joy was interacting and being generous with everyone who came to their tent.

While Dennis’s career advanced, he was also busy at home, helping Lois create a five acre hobby farm in Maple Grove, MN. They raised cows, chickens, sheep, ducks, geese, turkeys, bees and more. Dennis also faithfully took his family to church and served in many capacities at Joy Free Church in Rogers, Maple Grove Free Church, and Crystal Free Church. He gave generously and joyfully of his time and abilities to his family, fellow church members, friends and neighbors.

After 30 years in Maple Grove, they sold the five acres and moved to Buffalo, MN. Dennis considered retiring, but continued building birdhouses for another 20 years. He and Lois attended churches in the Buffalo area, finally making Buffalo Covenant their church home. He joined with others to host conferences for men wanting to pursue sexual purity in their lives. He regarded that work as important and meaningful. After completing several conferences, he was asked by a missionary to Africa to bring the conference to Uganda.

When not working, Dennis dreamed of and pursued travel. He took his wife to Norway, on a train tour of Europe, and they visited all fifty states. But his ideal vacation spot was always the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. He traveled there with his son, with church groups and with Lois. At 75 years old, he and his kids and grandkids took one last trip to the BWCA.

Dennis’s final years were spent at York Gardens in Edina, MN where he walked the hallways eager to talk and joke with everyone. He loved to go to worship services, play bingo, sip coffee, and find a good rocking chair. But what he loved most of all was to have his wife by his side, which she was until the end.

Dennis is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Lois Margrethe (Fiskness), their children: Natalie (Kevin) Medin, David (Leann) Erickson and Dawn Zamora (Andy Stump); their grandchildren: Daniel (Rebekah) Medin, Abigail Medin, David Medin, Sarah Medin, Justin (Carissa) Erickson, Eva (Benjamin) House, Anja (Joseph) Kolb, Edvard Erickson, Alex Zamora (Taylor Montgomery), and Emily Zamora; and their great-grandchildren: Anders House, Imogen Black and Aurora Zamora.

Dennis was preceded in death by his parents, Martin and Eva (Beers) Erickson; his brother, Ronald Erickson and sister, Virginia (Erickson) Johnson.