Helen Bachrodt Erickson

Celebration of life service will be 10 a.m. Saturday, September 9, 2023, at Holy Cross Parish - Blessed Sacrament Church in Sioux City with Father David Hemann, Celebrant. The family will greet friends one hour prior to the service. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery.  

Helen Backrodt Erickson passed away peacefully on December 26, 2022. Born on December 25, 1921, Helen was lovingly welcomed into the Cottage Grove home of Louis and Loretta (Hurley) Bachrodt in Des Moines. Life with her six siblings was never dull; they grew up knowing the best of their parents’ German and Irish ancestry - work hard and have fun. She graduated from St. Joseph’s Academy in Des Moines in 1939 and went on to St. Vincent School of Nursing in Sioux City, graduating in 1942. While a nursing student, she met her future husband, Ernest Daniel Erickson. They were married in Iowa City on December 19, 1942. They lived in San Antonio, Iowa City, Denver, Arkansas City, and Stuttgart, Germany. They settled in Sioux City in 1954 where they raised their family. Helen was widowed at an early age and raised her children as a single parent when that was not the norm.

She worked at the Siouxland Community Blood Bank for 25 years; if she didn’t know you by name, she knew you by your blood type. A longstanding member of Blessed Sacrament Church, she lived her faith by volunteering through many Siouxland organizations: her church, Sioux Med Dames, Mercy Medical Center, the Briar Cliff College Library, the Red Cross and the Soup Kitchen. She was a good friend to many and always extended her holiday table to friends and family who were alone. She was an avid reader and enjoyed bingo, bridge, card games and puzzles. She had a fondness for chocolates, shoes, sunsets and an occasional martini. She was bright, independent, resilient and enjoyed a keen sense of humor.

Helen played a significant role in her family’s lives. As 100 favorite family memories were shared at her 100th birthday, three themes prevailed: travel, games and caring for a plethora of family pets. Also answering to Mom, MIL (Mother-in-Law), G’ma, Grandma, GG’ma and Granny, she will be greatly missed by her family.

She is survived by her children: Sue (Maury) Nieland, Okemos, Michigan, Jan (Tom) Snyder, Sanborn, Amy Erickson (Angelo Ledda), Rome, Italy, Leif (Kim) Erickson, Sioux City, her nine grandchildren and ten great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. E.D. Erickson, son, John Thomas Erickson, her parents, Louis and Loretta Bachrodt and her six siblings. Memorials can be made in her honor to the Sioux City Public Library and the Food Bank of Siouxland, Inc. and mailed to the Family of Helen Erickson, 910 Lowery Avenue, Sanborn, Iowa 51248.