JOHN ANTHONY ERICKSON of North Olmsted passed away on January 6, 2026, at the age of 84. He was born in Ann Arbor and was adopted as a young infant by Algot and Iona Erickson, who raised him as an only child in Dearborn, MI. He was married to his wife, Jane (nee Rindfusz), whom he met on a blind date and became the love of his life as exemplified by their 60 years of marriage and devotion to each other. John and Jane attended St. Clarence Catholic Church in North Olmsted for more than 20 years. He is the father of Wade (Ashley) and Todd Erickson; Loving grandfather of JohnCharles, Ella, Alex and Emma Kate.

He attended the local Dearborn catholic and high schools (St. Alfonsas) then graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

As a kid he played many sports but fell in love with the game of hockey, which would play a huge role in his life as a player, father and coach. While in grade school his priest would pull him out of his afternoon classes to play pick-up games with the other local priests and their best prospects. It became such a common occurrence that one of the nuns pulled John aside to ensure everything was okay with him and his family as the priest was spending a lot of time “counseling John” as it was explained to her. Fr. Gumbleton went on to become the Bishop of Detroit and was known as an avid and tough player.

As a 16-year-old he was spotted while playing in a hockey camp by Red Kelley of the Detroit Red Wings and was asked to try out for the Detroit Jr. Red Wings. During this time the team was owned by Jimmy Hoffa and sponsored by his Teamsters organization. At 16 years old and the youngest on his team, he was thrilled to watch his idol, Gordie Howe, during the Red Wings practices that occurred before his team took to the Olympia ice for their turn.

The next year prior to the Red Wings season starting, John’s father took a telephone call from Gordie Howe asking for his permission to take John to Toledo for the weekend so that he and some of his teammates could start breaking in their skates and to get ready for their season to begin. Alex Delvechio, Ted Lindsay and others each showed up with a local “talent”. They bunked together during that weekend and in their down time Gordie and John would play catch with their baseball and mitts in the parking to kill time before their next skate.

John continued to play men’s league hockey until his early thirties and was a member of the Jiffy Mix team out of Ann Arbor that won a Michigan senior men’s state tournament and that year’s national championship.

After a brief stint as a teacher, he entered the world of corporate sales and excelled in this role for companies Like Chesebrough-Ponds and Hasbro Toys. John was a relentless advocate for the sport. While with the cosmetics company he convinced both his boss and a Revlon competitor to give the game of hockey a try. Both Mr. Campana and Goldberg turned both of their boys over to John for his tutelage and coaching. Little did these two families know that it would be this way for the next several years. While with Hasbro John reached the pinnacle of his professional sales career by being recognized by the Hasenfeld family with their “Alan Hassenfeld Award” for sales excellence and community leadership. He considered his boss, Dick Morrissey, a true mentor and longtime friend.

John and Jane were amongst the founders that started North Olmsted’s hockey program where the boys skated on the outdoor Rocky River and Oberlin rinks in the early weekend mornings when the only ice time was available. It was there that he met his best friend, Ian Cushenan. Ian and John would go on to coach and co-coach the North Olmsted Pee Wee and high school hockey teams for more than 17 years together. Their families became intertwined and an extension of each other’s. While covering a 3 state territory by car and excelling in his career, he found the time to lead 4 practices a week with 2-3 games on a given weekend. These games didn’t include the multiple out-of-state holiday tournaments. He was known for his hockey knowledge, his unwavering support for his players, dedication and his ability to instill in them not just athletic skills, but important life lessons about teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. With John it wasn’t about winning. It was about showing up and competing on every shift for the entirety of the game.

After retiring early, he and Jane spent many long weekends on their boat in Marblehead, OH, where they became deeply involved with the Bay Point Yacht Club. He captained many trips across Lake Erie in the days before GPS relying on his Power Squadron training, a local chart, the boat’s compass and a protractor. He was always steady at the helm knowing Jane was at his side. He was also a voracious reader enjoying non-fiction and historical novels. He seemed to be on a first name basis with the North Olmsted librarian where he always had his name on the list for the next popular book to be borrowed and read.

When they weren’t on their boat they could be found playing golf or taking their bi-annual trip to Myrtle Beach.

His life was best summoned up by the quote from Teddy Rosevelt, “The Man in the Arena”- “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

The family would like to thank the Cushenan, Maloy, Petkovic, McMillan, Gardner, Bailey, Arold and Corwin families for their years of support and friendship.

Funeral Mass Saturday, January 17, The Church of St. Clarence (30106 Lorain Rd.) at 11:00 AM. Interment LaSalle Township Cemetery. Friends may call at CHAMBERS FUNERAL HOME of NORTH OLMSTED, 29150 LORAIN RD. AT STEARNS FRIDAY 4-7 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating generously to:

• St. Brendan’s Catholic School-Fr. Murray Scholarship Fund, 4242 Brendan Lane, North Olmsted, Ohio 44070
  1. https://osvhub.com/stbrendannortholmsted/giving/funds/fr-murray-scholarship
• Tunnels to Towers
  1. http://t2t.org/