Dorothy May Erickson

Dorothy May Erickson, 89, of Paola, died peacefully on July 24, 2019. Dorothy was born December 27, 1929 in Lisle, MO to Ernest and Della Cheasbro. The family moved to various farms in both Missouri and Kansas during her childhood and finally settled in Paola. She graduated from Paola High School in 1947 and received an honor for taking “Shorthand” and Transcribing it in a short amount of time. Dorothy and her first husband, William Bennett, raised three children, Joseph (also known as Poncho), Linda and Mike. Mom loved keeping a clean house and gardening. After Bill passed away in 1978, several years later, she married Dale Erickson of Wisconsin. She and Dale loved to travel and go on numerous camping trips. When mom turned “60”, she got to live her dream of traveling to Switzerland with her daughter, Linda. Traveling for 10 days and seeing the Swiss Alps was her dream come true. Dorothy worked numerous jobs in Paola with her favorite being a Foster Grandparent at Sunflower Elementary School. She did this for over ten years until her health would not let her continue. Dorothy is survived by daughter, Linda Block (Steve) of Overland Park, KS; son Michael Bennett and his companion Beverly Lieberman of Paola; grandkids Cale Bennett (Carleen) of Aurora, CO, Cody Bennett of Overland Park, Pamela Daube (Steve) of Overland Park, Stacy Corum (Ryan) of Lenexa, Tara Warnock (Matt) of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, and Keely Richardson (Jake) of Ottawa, KS; great grandchildren Kiefer Bennett, Kayla Bennett, Alex Daube, Zoey Corum, Tinley Corum, Hayden Warnock, and a future grandchild arriving soon. Dorothy is also survived by a brother, Leonard Cheasbro (Ann) of Ottawa, KS and her favorite dog, BLUE. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents, both husbands, son Joe, and brothers David and Raymond. The family wishes to THANK the staff of North Point and Ascend hospice in providing loving and compassionate care. Mom’s fudge was the BEST! To share your memories of Dorothy or leave a special condolence message for her family, please click on the Share a Memory box.