David Earl Erikson, of Newtown, passed away on September 6, after valiantly battling a prolonged illness.

Dave was born on October 5, 1939, in Crookston, Minn., to Earl and Lilly Erikson. He grew up in the small farming community of Fertile, Minn. He graduated from Fertile High School, received a BA in mathematics from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and received an MA in mathematics from Rutgers University.

Dave taught mathematics at the high school and junior college levels in Florida, Michigan, New York, and Puerto Rico. He had a successful 25-year career in product development and management at IBM, enjoying the opportunity of an assignment in Europe for one of those years. After his retirement from IBM, he founded an IT consulting company called the Nordic Group, fondly named to honor his Scandinavian heritage.

Dave was known to all for his extreme kindness, gentle soul, and humility. Both as a youth and an adult, he loved participating in athletics, including baseball, basketball, football, golf, skiing, and tennis. His hobbies included woodworking, hiking, camping, mountain biking, motorcycling, and sailing. He had an adventurous spirit that led him to skydiving, hang gliding, and earning his pilot license.

Dave supported his community and church in his quiet, humble way. He volunteered as a Cub Scout leader, coached youth baseball and soccer, and served as an Elder at Christ The King Lutheran Church. He devoted a number of years to the Newtown Comfort ministry at Christ The King, taking Maggie the Comfort Dog to numerous organizations in surrounding communities, offering his compassion and kindness to others.

Dave is survived by his loving wife of thirty-eight years, Virginia (Dedrick); his adoring sons, Jonathan David Erikson, Georg (Barb) Erikson, and Christopher Sean Anderson Erikson; his grandsons, Matthew (Kaitlyn) Erikson and A. J. Erikson; and great-grandson, Aidan Erikson. He is also survived by his beloved sister, Marlene (Richard) Beck; sister-in-law Jeanne (Michael) Pottenburgh; brothers-in-law Kenneth (Karen) Dedrick and Craig (Lilly) Dedrick, and their families, including eleven nieces and nephews. Last but definitely not least, Dave is survived by his devoted dogs, Maggie and Buddy.

Dave was preceded in death by his parents, Earl Hemming Erikson and Lilly Anderson Erikson.

A memorial service and celebration of Dave’s life will be held at Christ The King Lutheran Church, 85 Mount Pleasant Road, Newtown, on September 25, at 11 am.

For those who wish to honor him, please consider making a blood or platelet donation to the American Red Cross or donating to the American Cancer Society, cancer.org.