Betty Erickson

It has been said that the more content you are with yourself, the fewer material things you need. Betty Erickson lived such a life - one not obsessed with material possessions but rather with the things that mattered most – family, friends and faith. She enjoyed the simple pleasures in life and it was the people who were most important. A lovingly devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, Betty’s smile and laughter filled each day with sunshine.

The widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly with the stock market crash of 1929, and the great economic depression that followed. The Depression threatened people’s jobs, their savings, even their homes and farms. For many Americans, these were hard times. For Richard and Gertrude (Hoffman) Borr, life in Holland, Michigan was no different. But their lives were brightened with the birth of their daughter, Betty Jean, on September 21, 1929. Betty was the second of five Borr children, and was always close to her siblings: Joyce, Marsha, Roger and Judy.

To support their large family, Betty’s father worked in the Holland Shoe Factory before going to work at his brothers’ business at Borr’s Bootery in Holland.. Her mom was a wonderful homemaker, who provided Betty with a wonderful childhood full of memories. Growing up in Holland, it was only natural that Betty participated in the annual Tulip Time festivities, including as a Dutch dancer. In school, she proved to be quite an athlete. However, during the war there weren’t many opportunities for girls to excel in sports. Always ambitious and energetic, Betty worked in a bakery and at a fruit stand after school to help support her family.

Betty received her education in the Holland Public Schools and graduated from Holland High in 1947. Shortly thereafter, she went to work as an Operator and Service Assistant at Michigan Bell Telephone Company in Holland. While working for the company she served in Detroit under special assignment to find out why so many women were leaving the company. As a young and very independent young woman, Betty loved to travel and frequently went to Chicago to see a show and took several bus trips to Florida with some of her girlfriends. In a time when women didn’t own many luxuries, Betty bought herself a brand new beautiful yellow Buick, which she drove with pride.

In 1954, a wonderful thing happened to Betty – she met the love of her life, Kenneth H. Erickson, who had just returned from serving in the Korean War. Ken was from Brooklyn, New York, and had come to Michigan to attend Hope College in 1948. While he was at Hope College he and Betty were just acquaintances, but by 1954 they started dating. Ken was attending graduate school at the University of Michigan, and Betty would drive up every weekend to see him. The two fell hopelessly in love, and were engaged on New Year’s Eve 1955, and happily married at the Western Theological Seminary (the second wedding ever held there) on June 23, 1956.

The newlyweds settled into married life together in Livonia, a very large suburb of Detroit, and Ken took his first teaching position in the Redford Union School District. It was here the couple raised their three sons: Jeffrey, Brent and Bradley, and shared many wonderful memories as a family. Betty was an amazing mother! She wasn’t one of those sideline moms either – she was actively involved in every facet of her boys’ lives. Being athletic herself, Betty would help build an ice rink in their backyard in the winter, and play hockey with the boys. Undoubtedly, she was the only mom her boys knew that had her own hockey stick. Time together as a family was always important to Betty and Ken, and they took many opportunities to take their sons on long camping trips during the summer to places like Colorado, Yellowstone National Park, Nova Scotia, Canada and other areas of the country. In addition, they frequently camped during the summer at Holland State Park.

Besides being a terrific mom and loving wife, Betty was active in her community, devoting countless hours to various activities that benefitted and touched many young lives. From the different activities at her sons’ schools and her community service, to being an active member at Ward Presbyterian Church in Livonia, her passion was to support her family and serve her community. Among her friends and her family, Betty was known as the "master shopper" and always knew where the best purchases could be made for any occasion and under various circumstances.

After Ken retired in 1992, he and Betty began to travel more extensively, and visited Europe, Alaska, Cancun and spent cold Michigan winters in Florida. With U of M being among Ken’s alma maters, the couple had season tickets to their football games for 30 years, and rarely missed any. After residing in Livonia for 48 years, Ken and Betty decided to make their way back to Holland for good in 2004.

Betty was a wonderful lady who always dressed with style and had a beautiful smile on her face that served as testimony to the fact that she enjoyed every moment of her life. Her outward appearance reflected an inner strength as she was a woman with strong character and an extraordinarily generous spirit. Although Betty will be deeply missed, her legacy of love and dedication leaves her loved ones with wonderful memories and a strong foundation to look to for comfort.

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Betty Jean Erickson, age 79 of Holland, MI, died on Monday, September 29, 2008, at Holland Hospital, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Kenneth; sons: Jeffrey (Rosemary) Erickson of Holland, Brent (Marcia) Erickson of Williamston and Bradley (Fiona) Erickson of Clarkston; eight grandchildren: Bryan, Michael, Jason, Nicole, Kelsey, Colin, Aidan, and Regan; sisters: Joyce (Ralph) Martinus of Muskegon, Marsha (Paul) Northuis of Holland; and a brother, Roger (Ruth) Borr of Holland. Betty was preceded in death by her parents and sister, Judy, in 1968.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, October 1, from 6-9 p.m. at the Northwood Chapel of Dykstra Life Story Funeral Homes, 295 Douglas Avenue, Holland. Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 2, at the Grace Episcopal Church, 555 Michigan Avenue in Holland with Rev. Jennifer Adams officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or Grace Episcopal Church. Please visit Betty’s personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a memory with her family or sign her online guest book.