One of Dixon's friendliest and funniest residents has passed

DIXON, CA (MPG) - Former Dixon Mayor Don Erickson, perhaps one of Dixon's friendliest and funniest residents, has passed from a heart attack over Thanksgiving weekend at his daughter's home in Paso Robles. He was 84.

His beloved wife, Marcia, of nearly 60 years passed away just this past February after they resided in Dixon and raised their family here for 55 of those years.

Don was born in1936, the son of farmers in Great Falls, Montana where he grew up and later told those stories with great fervor and great sense of humor. He graduated from the University of Montana where he met his wife, Marcia and they married in 1960.

He attended Northwestern School of Dentistry before entering the United States Air Force as a commissioned officer and was stationed at Travis Air Force Base where they lived for a couple years before settling in Dixon in 1964.

Don practiced dentistry here and was always active in the community first as a member of the Dixon Unified School District Board where he served 12 years after being appointed in 1966. He only resigned because of a conflict of interest: Marcia wanted to go back to work after raising their girls and was hired to be a 5th grade teacher for Anderson elementary School.

He felt passion for a town that seemed to be dividing between new residents and older ones and where they thought growth should go--east or west. He hoped to serve as a peacemaker, drawing on his 'facilitation skills' and threw in his hat for mayor. He was elected Mayor in 1994 by only 15 votes after the local newspapers endorsed the incumbent Richard Brians. This newspaper ran Erickson's victory story on the front page in our April 14 edition. 

Don served on the Solano County Civil Service Commission for 14 years and other commissions as well in the late 60s and early 70s. He was a member of Rotary for many years serving as President the year he was elected. He was known for his great sense of humor and was a jokester even into these latest years via his Facebook.

"He was already the Mayor when I moved here and was such a caring person," said long-time friend Angela Meisenheimer who served as the Executive Director of the Dixon Chamber of Commerce while Don served as Mayor. "He was well-loved and was really funny. The first day I met him, I thought, 'This guy is awesome!' "

After his Mayor's duty, he worked for Cooley enterprises here in town farming tomatoes and driving tractors. In 2000, he was chosen Citizen of the Year by the Dixon Chamber of Commerce.

He is survived by his two daughters, Kathleen O’Connor (Mike) of San Miguel, CA and Stacey Gehlken (Steve) of Boise, ID. Also surviving are three granddaughters and one grandson: Kristina Gehlken, 29, (Nic Baughman), Emily Gehlken Ostby, 24, (Ben), Sean O’Connor, 22 and Sara O’Connor, 19. There are also nieces, nephews and cousins that survive and will remember him always.