Warren C Eriksen

Longtime Pocatello resident, Warren Croshaw Eriksen, 92, passed away early Friday morning, December 6, 2013, at a local health care center. Identical twins, Warren and his brother Woodrow, were born February 3, 1921, to Susan Elisabeth Croshaw and Jeron M. Eriksen, at home in Oxford, Idaho. He attended Oxford elementary school, then Downey High School where he excelled in all athletic endeavors lettering in all 4 sports. In football, he was chosen for the all-state team in 1938 and in 1939 was selected as all-state halfback. As a forward in basketball, Warren was named to the all-state team in 1938. During 1939, the team took the Class B Idaho State Championship, the last time Downey High School ever won the State trophy, and were designated as the all-state basketball team. Warren also set records in track events and baseball. The Downey High School Bulldogs had a vigorous boxing team, and he became a Golden Gloves boxing champion for the State of Idaho. He received offers of athletic scholarships at the University of Idaho at Moscow and the University of Idaho Southern Branch in Pocatello, where he enrolled following graduation in 1939. As a member of LDS church, he served as 2nd counselor for the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA), and served as a Deacon, Teacher, and Priest in the Oxford Ward. During high school he met LuDean Christensen. After attending the University of Idaho Southern Branch, they were married on January 13, 1940. From this blessed union, 3 sons were born: Tim Warren, Stephan C, and Kristopher Kevin. World War II was a time of separation and the Eriksens were no exception. Warren was drafted into the Navy, serving aboard the U.S.S. Chemung, an oil transport tanker for the Pacific. At the end of the war, an assignment to occupation duty in the Far East found the Chemung circumnavigating the world on a goodwill tour. Warren and LuDean settled in Pocatello, where Warren became a brakeman/conductor and the Trainman Representative for Union Pacific Railroad, serving 35 years until his retirement. Warren became active in the community and politics, serving as the Democratic Central Committee Chairman. He and LuDean campaigned for various candidates at all levels of government, including the President of the United States. Hobbies included breeding and racing quarter horses, and thoroughbreds. He was renowned for participating in chariot races, and winning the coveted 2-year old Quarter Horse Bonneville Futurity. LuDean and Warren's beautiful flower garden of Iris, Gladioli and Dahlias was legendary. They furnished flowers to the local florists, and showed their best arrangements at the fair, winning numerous blue ribbons and "Best of Show". Warren was preceded in death by LuDean, his wife of 72 years, in 2012; his parents; 4 brothers: Milton, Twins Ray and Roy, and Daryl Eriksen; and a beloved grandson, Kristopher Eriksen. He is survived by his sons: Tim W. (Patricia), Soda Springs, ID, Stephan C., Pocatello, ID, and Kevin (Debbie), Lewiston, ID; Grandchildren: Donald T. Eriksen, Salt Lake City, UT, Yolanda S. Eriksen, Folsom, CA, Shiela E. (Scott) Owen, Pocatello, ID, Tyler Jeron Eriksen, Boise, ID; Great Grandchildren: Weston Eriksen, Kaleb, Emma, Wil, and Sam Pueblo, Brittney Owen (Brandon) Hjelseth, and Nickolas Owen, (USN); his twin brother Woodrow Croshaw Eriksen, Elko, NV, and numerous nieces and nephews. The Family gratefully acknowledges the staff at Quail Ridge Assisted Living for their loving care. Funeral Services will be held Thursday, December 12, 2013, at 11:00 A.M. in the LDS 29th Ward Chapel, 1700 Kinghorn Road, Pocatello. The family will receive friends Wednesday evening from 6 to 8 P.M. at Colonial Funeral Home, 2005 S. 4th Ave., Pocatello, and at the church from 10:00 to 10:45 A.M. Thursday morning. Interment will follow the services at Restlawn Memorial Gardens, Pocatello. Condolences may be sent to the family online at www.Colonial-FuneralHome.com.