Raymond “Ray” Erickson, 80, walked into the waiting, loving embrace of Jesus on Oct. 12, 2022, having suffered complications for nine weeks after a lawn mower accident. Ray was born March 21, 1942, in Renton, Wash., to Theodore and Mildred “Bonnie” Erickson. He joined two-year-old, Theodore Melvin “Mel” and ten years later the family welcomed twin boys, Dale and Daryl. Ray attended schools in Issaquah, Wash., through his senior year. He then attended Yakima Jr. College where he played basketball and baseball. Ray joined the Navy where he became a pilot after two years, but then received an honorable discharge for health reasons. Ray then attended Washington State University where he played basketball and baseball for two years and graduated with a degree in Animal Science with a minor in economics. Upon graduating, he looked forward to joining his family on a ranch in the mountains near Hunters, Wash., that his Dad had recently purchased after Ray had grown up helping his Dad and two uncles raise chickens commercially. His Dad had dreams for years that he heard the chicken trucks coming very early in the mornings. However, Ray’s dream was to raise cattle. He did so with his Dad for six years before he met a spunky cowgirl named Patty, whose heart he soon lassoed and married June 27, 1972. Patty helped Ray with his A.I. program by bringing individual cows in from the herd using her horse. Eventually they decided Montana looked like a more suitable place to raise cattle having visited friends in Geraldine. In 1977, they along with their first daughter, Anna moved to the Judith River breaks west of Winifred. Their daughter, Elizabeth “Betsy” was born in Lewistown on a -30 degree December day. They created many happy memories on that river ranch, but in the 80s when short-term interest rose to unthinkable highs, they left their home to live in Christina for three years while Ray worked for Farm Credit Services in Lewistown. A degree in economics qualified him to move from one side of the desk to the other. Ray was soon longing for the ranch life and left FCS to work for Tom Walling and later moved his family to Moore in 1989 to work for Karl Hertel. Being a man of many talents, in 1995, he joined Dennis Robinson selling insurance at Lewistown Insurance. They were partners for 12 years when Ray decided to sell crop insurance exclusively and moved to his home south of Moore to create Baldy View, Inc., selling crop insurance from home. He then sold the business to his son-in-law, R.J. Waggoner and Dennis’ son-inlaw, Scott Wichman, in 2015. Ray served some select farmers even then until he finally retired in 2018.
