The service will begin at 10:30 a.m. in the Village Center at Covenant Village of Florida. Chaplain Judy Swanberg will officiate.
Ericson was born May 15, 1922, in Whitemouth, Manitoba. He married Anne Busk on September 7, 1946. She survives.
Ericson served multiple Covenant congregations. He also served as a Covenant missionary in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1951 to 1974. Later, he served as chaplain in the Immanuel International School in Stockholm, Sweden from 1977 to 1987.
When Dr. Paul Carlson was murdered in Congo in 1963, it was Ericson who identified the missionary’s body, arranged for the return of Carlson’s body to Karawa, and conducted the funeral.
While in Congo, Ericson’s ministry included serving as general secretary of Protestant Missions, as secretary of the Department of Information and Radio of the Congo Protestant Council, as leader of a new Bible school in Gbado, as principal of the Congo Christian Institute, and as a teacher in several schools.
While in Stockholm, Ericson also served as the executive director and executive secretary of the Paul Carlson Medical Program.
Covenant News Service will publish additional information as it becomes available.
© 2013 The Evangelical Covenant Church |
Whenever a special person dies, it is for us to grieve well, take time to remember and to give thanks, and to find comfort in the hope of the resurrection! This life is not all there is!
Dan and Anne have been special persons for us. Serving in the Canada Conference allowed us to learn to know the Ericson family and from whence so much of that specialness came. They helped us to plan a sabbatical leave that concluded with their hosting us in their Stockholm home on consecutive weekends. Yes I got to preach in the International Church at Dan’s invitation! A son of the Canadian prairie and the Covenant, pastor, missionary, teacher, linguist, statesman, we are proud to call him friend. Peace to his memory.
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01.10.12 at 6:43 pm
Dan Ericson was a wonderful gift to me and to the church. I treasure many great memories of Dan and Anne and their many kindnesses. Peace to his memory and much love to the family.
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01.11.12 at 10:07 am
We extend our sympathy to the Erickson family in the loss of a man who influenced many people. I have memories of listening to their missionary stories from Congo when they visited family in my home church – Malmo.
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01.11.12 at 11:57 am
What delightful memories we have of Dan and Anne from WA. and the International Church in Stockholm. He had the gift of “serious smile.” So warm and welcoming…hilarious, too. His influence and joy will be missed! We are grateful to have known such a man of God.
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01.11.12 at 2:42 pm
My thoughts and prayers are with you, especially my dear friend Lil and Helen and others in the family. May God bless the memories of Dan to you and be near to comfort you. Love, Shirley
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01.11.12 at 2:46 pm
Dearest Anne, My thoughts and deepest sympathy are with you right now. You and Dan still feel near and dear to my heart as I remember our years in Stockholm together. Dan baptised Linnea in 1987, remember? Thank you for your service to God, your family, church , and all your friends. You are such a lady and Dan was a real man among men. May God bless you and continue to carry you on the wings of angels. Love and prayers, Gail Constant (Kallberg-Levin)
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01.12.12 at 12:49 am
Blessings on the whole Ericson family and especially on Anne. Dan married us 30 years ago on a very cold January day in Stockholm. He was a warm and compassionate pastor, a wise counselor and a faithful servant. His life and home were full of people from all walks of life and every imaginable country – and everyone felt important and celebrated. We look forward to his continuing ministry of Christ-like hospitality in eternity. May Dan’s life inspire us all to persevere and thrive in our walk with Jesus.
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01.14.12 at 6:39 am
My sympathy to Ann and the family, What would I have done without Dan during those awful days in Nov. 64. He took care of all the legalities etc. Dan was a rock. The missionary “Family” is very close and lean on each other. Dan and Ann were director and secretary for several years of Paul Carlson Medical Programs (now PCP). They were such a blessing. I also remember staying over night with them in Brussels. Many wonderful memories!
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01.16.12 at 1:06 pm
A couple of corrections: while in Stockholm, Dad was pastor of the International Congregation of Immanuel Church, not chaplain at the International School. He was head of the Paul Carlson Medical Program following his Stockholm assignment, and coordinated the incorporation of PCMP into the Covenant missions department. He was a wonderful Dad, too.
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01.19.12 at 9:35 am
Dan was a great pastor, counsellor and a truthful servant of Christ. While Dan and Anne were in Stockholm, they really showed us what really the Christian fellowship is. We remember them so much. We always felt at home whenever we went to Immanuel Church in Stockholm. He was concerned about each and everybody in the congregation. Their house was always open to anyone at any time! Their exemplary life as a missionary couple is like a wild fire that is bound to spread. We will miss Dan so much. Our love and sympathy to Anne and to the whole family.
//Alphonsa and Sebastian Lourdudoss, Stockholm, Sweden
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01.22.12 at 2:51 pm
Dad was a great man, and a stickler for details. I guess I’ve inherited part of that. Another few corrections:
Dad, was superintendent of schools at Gbado (’51-4 and later at Bokada ’59.
Dan moved the Bible School from Tandala to the new and present site of Goyongo in 1958. (He went with the men and they built their own homes and planted gardens before the women and children could come. Students still eat from their own gardens at Goyongo.)
In 1960 he went back to Congo with the male missionaries; Mom and we 4 kids stayed in Chicago. In 1961 we joined Dad at Gbado and the next year the folks were the dorm parents at UBAC. In 1962-3 they lived in Mbandaka and were the Information Service for the Congo Protestant Council, Equator Province. In 1963-4 they were on furlough, and returned in September 1964 to Kinshasa to begin the first Protestant Radio service for the country. They did that until 1967. In 1967 Dad was asked to be the General Secretary of the Protestant Missions for Central Africa, in Brussels, Belgium, representing all missions who sent missionaries to Central Africa from Europe, N. America…everyone had to learn French, study tropical medicine, etc. In fall, 1971, they moved to Kinshasa and Dad became the pastor of the International Church of Kinshasa in Kalina. They were there until they moved to Lake Stevens, WA, to pastor a church there in 1974. They moved to Stockholm in 1977 to Immanuelkyrkan and were there until 1987, when they moved to Illinois and the Paul Carlson Foundation. Which they brought into the “black” and handed to the missions department to close it.
Mom and Dad were a pair! And Dad was an amazing father. It made it easy to believe that God is a loving omnipotent being ‘way beyond our comprehension, and personal. I thank God daily for what I learned from my dad. And I am glad that we will meet again in the place where there are no more goodbyes. We’ve had so many of them in this life!
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01.22.12 at 6:36 pm
Some people are very special and Dan was one of them. I met him in September 1977, thanks to my Swedish roomate, as I was on a professional mission in Stockholm, Sweden. Discovering the international Church was a revelation to me. Dan helped me redesign and give a new meaning to my faith. He was also a wonderful counselor who gave me simple, yet salient and meaningful answers on issues connected to my life, my future and other stuff. I remember the Sunday morning services at Emmanuels Kyrkan, Dan’s sermons, the Saturday evening volleyball, followed by the cheerful “get together” at Dan’s and Anne’s home. Lots of fun, lots of frienship and sharing. I have a special thought for Anne, his wife, and all the family. My most sincere condolences to all of them. Dan, may you rest in peace. I am sure that you are already in God’s home as all good people do.
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01.23.12 at 7:32 am
Glad to read your message here, John. Too bad I spot you on such a sad occasion. Best regards.
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01.23.12 at 9:13 am