Missoula, Ronald Erickson, 91, passed away early in the morning, Thursday, February 6, 2025, at home surrounded by his family.

Ronald Erickson was born in Wallace, Idaho and grew up in the Idaho panhandle. Though an
only child, Ron was part of a vibrant family that included miners, farmers, and railroad
engineers. After losing his father at age seven, he spent summers on his grandparents farm
and often explored the woods and mountains around Wallace. He and his mother Katherine
relocated to Coeur d'Alene a few years later where he made close friends he kept for his entire
life. Together with two classmates who shared a common first name "The Three Rons
became notorious for their good nature and sophisticated high school hi-jinks. In addition to
causing trouble and sometimes playing hookey to go fishing, Ron was an excellent studen
who played trumpet and French horn in the band and graduated at the top of his class. He
received an Associates Degree from Northern Idaho College and earned a Bachelors Degree in
Physics at Idaho State University in Pocatello. Ron spent summers during his college years in
the woods as a surveyor for the US Forest Service.

In addition to his interest in the sciences, Ron studied multiple foreign languages at Idaho State
University. After graduating from college and a brief stint working for Lockheed as an engineer
in the Los Angeles area, Ron received a Bavarian Exchange Fellowship to study physics in
Munich, Germany. Ron made fast friends in Munich including with Clara Oppenheimer, an
American exchange student from Michigan who was in Munich on a Fulbright scholarship.
When he returned to the United States, Ron took an engineering position at the Naval
Weapons Center, China Lake, in the desert north of Los Angeles. Two years later, Clara joined
him in California and they were married. Ron and Clara had two children, daughter Karyn and
son Mark. He was a dedicated father who passed his adventure ethic and love for the
outdoors to the family through frequent camping, backpacking, and day trips to the mountains
and desert near the family home.

Ron pursued a successful career as a systems engineer specializing in Naval Aviation Human
Factors. He earned a Masters Degree in Systems Engineering from UCLA and became an
internationally recognized expert in the development and utilization of airborne targeting
systems and guided weapons. His experiences included testing some of the innovations he
helped develop by flying back seat in US Navy TA-4 Skyhawk and F-4 Phantom tactica
aircraft.

In addition to his career, was an active participant in local drama productions, the local fencing
club, the local folk dancing club, and as a charter member of the Aguabonita Fly Fishers, where
he taught fly tying and casting Ron also continued to pursue his passion for the outdoors
He spent many summer weekends backpacking in the Sierra Nevada mountains with Clara and
made a number of long trips with friends to remote lakes in the high Sierra. Ron and Clara also
took multiple trips to Germany, England, France, east Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Ron
also earned a private pilot's license and spent many weekends flying sailplanes or aerobati
aircraft.

Through much of his life, one of Ron's true passions was fly fishing, which he discovered a
teenager in Idaho and continued to pursue well into his eighties. Angling was a core element
of most of Ron's backpacking trips in the Sierra. Later in his career, he arranged to spend
multiple weeks each summer fishing in Northern Idaho and Western Montana, often with hi
close friends from high school and ones he made in California.
Ron and Clara retired to Missoula, Montana in 1990. In addition to pursuing fly fishing,
made many friends and enjoyed plays, concerts, and university-related events with his wife
Clara. Ron continued to keep in touch with high school classmates, friends made at China
Lake, and new friends he made in Missoula. Ron was also an active participant with Clara in
the Sons of Norway chapter in Missoula, where he participated in folk dance events and
continued his love of languages by studying Norwegian.

Ron and Clara had their home of thirty three years built on a ridge just south of Missoula and
spent many years developing and maintaining its landscaping. It served as a launching point
for frequent summer trips to Georgetown Lake and other favorite spots in the region. Ron and
Clara also continued to travel for many years. Their destinations included Spain, Norway, New
Zealand, Alaska, and Canada. Local destinations included frequent visits to friends in Northern
Idaho, trips to Glacier Park and Yellowstone, and weekend trips to enjoy regional theatre in
Bigfork, Philipsburg, and elsewhere.

In his later years, Ron was a doting grandfather and greatly enjoyed road trips to California for
family visits. He also made sure to take advantage of the many cultural and outdoor charms of
northwest Montana when hosting family visits to Missoula.
In his later years, Ron battled Parkinson's Disease with a determination and grace that was an
inspiration to his family, his medical support team, and his friends. Ron never lost his sense of
humor and seemed always to be ready with a wisecrack or just a smirk to put those around
him at ease. Ron died peacefully at home with Clara, Karyn, and Mark in attendance. He is
survived by his wife of sixty six years Clara, his daughter Karyn, his son Mark, and his
grandchildren Annika and Ezra.