Iva Erickson

Phoenix, AZ - Iva (Sell) Erickson died a month before her 97th birthday at her residence, The Terraces, Phoenix, AZ, on November 24, 2013. \r\n\r\nThe funeral service in her honor will begin at 1:00 p.m., Thursday, December 5, 2013, at Mitchell-Jerdan Funeral Home, 1200 Wabash Avenue, Mattoon, IL, 61938. Visitation will be held from 12:00 (Noon) until the service begins. Iva will be laid to rest next to her husband at Dodge Cemetery, Mattoon, Illinois.\r\n\r\nIva was born Dec. 23, 1916, on a farm near Ava, MO. She was the fifth of eleven children born to Kenneth and Maggie (Boon) Sell. \r\n\r\nIva moved to Iowa with her family when she was 12 years of age and graduated from high school in Tenant, IA, during the depression. Anxious to find work and be independent, Iva, shortly thereafter, joined an older sister in Glendale, CA. She found the work she was looking for but her independence was short lived as she met and fell in love with Arnold (Eric) Erickson whom she married in 1936. That marriage lasted until his death 56 years later. \r\n \r\nIva put all her love and energy into building and maintaining a Christian home for her husband and her only child, Richard. After World War II, the family resided in Burbank, CA, for nearly 30 years. When Iva''s husband suffered a series of strokes in the early ''80''s she and he settled in Mattoon, IL. Many of Iva''s siblings and their children lived in Mattoon. Iva joined the First Baptist Church in Mattoon and faithfully attended it''s worship services.\r\n\r\nAbout 5 years after her husband died, in 1994, Iva wished to be closer to her son and his family in Scottsdale, AZ. She moved to The Terraces in 1999, and resided there until her death.\r\n\r\nIva is survived by her son, Richard and his wife, Karen; two grandsons, Scott and Rick; a daughter-in-law, Dawn; and four great grandchildren, Annika, Sarah, Aidan and Andrew. All reside in the greater Phoenix area. One grandson, Ron, and Iva''s husband, Eric, predeceased her. \r\n\r\nIva is survived in Mattoon by two sisters, Beverly Fleenor and Marge Smith; two nephews, Floyd Sell and Jamie Sell; and two nieces, Connie Geilman and Sherri Pforr. Her only surviving brother, Gerald Sell, lives in Boonville, MO. Iva was predeceased by five brothers and two sisters, all of whom lived in Mattoon during their lifetimes. The brothers were Cecil, Otto, Virgil, Dale, and Nelson Sell. Her sisters were Genia Moore and Neva Hamilton.\r\n\r\nMemorials in honor of Mrs. Erickson may be made to the First Baptist Church of Mattoon, IL.\r\n\r\nPlease visit www.mitchell-jerdan.com or www.facebook.com/mitchelljerdanfuneralhome to light a virtual candle in Iva's honor or share a memory with her family. \r\n

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Iva Erickson

December 23, 2016 - November 24, 2013