SPECIAL FEATURES
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Mark Drew Erickson
Dec. 10, 1949 - Nov. 13, 2005
"Now in a Much Better Place"
Mark D. Erickson, 55, passed away on Sunday afternoon, November 13, 2005. He was
suffering from cirhosis of the liver for many years and was in his final, dreadful stage of
alcoholism. He knew his daily addictions would some day bring him agony, misery and
eventual death, and unfortunately he was right. He made the wrong choice, but all is forgiven.
I sincerely believe he is where he wants to be---now, in a much better place, in heaven, with
all our loved ones. I pray that's where he is. Mark was born on December 10, 1949, to Henry
and Amanda Erickson, in Tacoma, Washington. He was raised in the northend of Tacoma. He
was baptised and a confirmed Episcopalian and attended St. Lukes Memorial Episcopal
Church. He attended Sherman Elementary, Mason Jr. High and Wilson High School. As a
young boy, he participated in the soap box derby, as a racer, in the early 60s, racing the
Kiwanis derby track near Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, for a few years. Later, he boxed
groceries for Piggly Wiggly Grocers for a few years, and saved up enough money to buy a
bass guitar and amplifier. He then collaborated with his friends and joined garage bands
playing rock and roll music at private parties, dances and other social events. For being
self-taught, as a bass player, learning by ear, he was a very sharp and talented guitarist. He
particularly admired Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five,
The Hollies, The Moody Blues, ELO, just to mention a few of an endless string of '50s, '60s
and '70s rock bands. He loved rock and roll and had a sizable collection of records and tapes
he treasured. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1968 and was stationed in Japan and the
Phillipeans, then honorably discharged in 1969 for medical reasons. A few years later, in
1972, he married, but after a short while, he knew it wasn't his most pleasurable experiences
and the marriage dissolved. He was employed as a painter for various employers, such as,
the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Pt. Defiance and Progress House. He later painted houses
privately on his own. And he was a remarkable and consciencious painter. Mark was a free-
spirited indivual. He was kind and good-hearted. He loved children but had none of his own.
He was, also, a talented artist, drawing many colorful characters. He use to love to ride his
10-speed bicycle on long distances. One destination he truly admired and loved, was Fox
Island, near Gig Harbor. He loved combing the beach and tanning and camping there in the
woods. He loved animals and the beauty of nature. It is too heart-wrenching to speak of his
disease. It was so sad to see him go down that unspeakable path. He could have been
anything, especially an accomplished musician, but the powerful addiction of alcohol
transformed his life into a living hell. His personality and self-worth and physical and mental
health was totally destroyed. I will remember him as he was years ago, as he was meant to
be, and his spirit will live on. And please not remember Mark in his alcoholic-diseased
state-of-mind. If that's how you see him, don't remember him at all. Mark was pre-deceased
by his oldest brother Donald Eugene Erickson, in 1975, his father, Henry Erickson, in 1985,
and his mother, Amanda Erickson, in 1997. He is survived by his brothers, Allan Lee
Erickson, of Gig Harbor and Earl David Erickson, of Tacoma. A special thanks to the ICU staff
at Tacoma General Hospital, and the kindness and patience of his estate manager and
fiduciary, Dick Vanesky, of the Washington State Veteran's Affairs. At Mark's request, there
will be no memorial service. A private graveside burial took place on Wednesday, November
16, 2005 at Cromwell Cemetery in Gig Harbor. Donations will be gladly accepted through the
local Veterans of Foreign Wars, Alcoholics Annonymous or your favorite charity. For more
information, please e-mail Earl D. Erickson at earlderickson1952@yahoo
Pub Date: 11/18/2005
Unsparing Tale of Brother's Death Touches Heart
At fourteen, the year he began drinking, Earl Erickson looked to his future and thought of becoming a
writer. His brother and drinking partner, Mark Erickson, was seventeen at the time, teaching himself the
bass guitar, dreaming of playing in a band. Within three years, Mark and Earl were drinking much more often.
On November 13th, when Mark was 55, alcohol killed him. Earl wrote his obituary, like so many he
has written in his family and for others.
It was unlike any that I have seen in our local newspaper. It balanced a brother's love with an unwavering
admission of what Mark had lost to alcoholism. It described what the disease had done to his
mind and body.
Since its publication November 18th, Earl's inbox has filled with e-mails from people moved and
comforted by the obituary's honesty.
"My brother just died at the age of 55," a woman from Aberdeen wrote to Earl. "I wish that I would have
had the guts to tell his story the way you told your brother's."
"I cried at the end because, you see, I too lost my brother the same way two years ago," wrote Rondi
Moreau of Kent." He was also a beautiful, handsome young man. He could have been anything, because he
was talented with his hands and had a very high IQ. He also married, but loved the bottle more and walked
out on his wife and two children. He also was a house painter. ...He died alone in his apartment, at age 60."
Moreau knew Mark was beautiful because that is how we saw him in the photographs Earl ran with the
obituary. She knew he had painted houses, that he was bright and talented, that his marriage had failed,
because Earl included all of that, and more. Mark had been a soap box derby racer. He had boxed groceries
at Piggly Wiggly to earn money for a bass guitar. He loved the music of Elvis and the British Invasion bands.
He'd lasted a year in the Navy, and about that long as a husband.
"Please do not remember Mark in his alcoholic-diseased state of mind," Earl wrote. "If that's how you
see him, don't remember him at all."
Earl knows better than to judge his brother. Until July 4, 2003, he, too, drank to dangerous excess. He
has nine drunken-driving convictions, and has been in jail, treatment and counseling "too many times," he
said. He's lost jobs as a shipfitter in Washington and California. He now is a custodian.
Once again, he's dreaming of writing. Over the past eight years, he has written five obituaries for family
members, including his mother and his wife. Mark's was different.
Even when Earl was drinking, he tried to keep Mark safe. When Earl found his brother living on the
streets, he bought an Airstream trailer in a mobile home park for him.
"He partied and yelled at people, and they had to evict him," Earl said. "Six months later I bought a
house for him to rent. I thought he couldn't get kicked out of a house he was renting from me."
He didn't get kicked out, but he did trash the place and let other alcoholics set up campers on the lawn
and eventually move in. They were drinking with him when Earl visited and found Mark delirious and in
organ failure.
"They were claiming they were his caregivers," Earl said of the crew who refused to leave after Mark
died.
"When Mark died, just a flood of memories came to me, both the bad and the good," Earl said. "I kept
wondering what he could have been. It did me good to write that story. It's part of my recovery, to tell the truth."
Earl thinks Mark would be happy that $1,557.30 from his burial insurance policy paid for the large
obituary.
"He didn't want a memorial service," Earl said. "I figured writing a good obituary would be like a good
send-off and a keepsake. I think he would have really liked it. He knew he had the problem."
But he might never have guessed the comfort his story, as told by his brother, would give to so many
who did not know him, but were on intimate terms with his demons.