Ranel Einar Erickson

Ranel Einar Erickson

 1953‑2018

Our beloved father, brother, son and friend peacefully passed through the veil and returned to his heavenly home on April 26, 2018 due to pneumonia from complication from cancer. Ranel was born on August 26,1953 in Ely, Nevada to Einar Clayton Erickson and Georgia Gudmundson. He met his sweetheart, Kathleen Laverne Johnson at an Institute dance at UNLV. Two years later, after a long distance courtship, they were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on August 30, 1974. 

As a youth he earned the Order of the Arrow and Eagle scout award. Dad attended East Ely elementary, Cashman Jr. High in Ely and Clark High School in Las Vegas. He attended the University of Nevada of Las Vegas, Indiana University Bloomington, Caltech in Pasadena CA, and Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. After earning his PhD in Operation Research he took his first job at Bell Labs in Holmdel, New Jersey. Wanting to be closer to home he took a job at UNLV. He taught there for 32 years as a tenured professor in Business. He earned Emeritus Status. The family lived in Las Vegas then moved to Henderson while working at UNLV. 

He also did computer consulting. He started many companies and was awarded 3 software development patents. With the software he created, he co‑founded a company that became a billion dollar company in the dot.com era. He supported the dreams of his wife and children in many ways. He was instrumental along with his wife in starting a charter school, Explore Knowledge Academy. He and his wife and younger children lived in Florida for a few years to pursue his daughter’s soccer goals. He helped write business plans and started Action Sports United and Reuel Erickson BMX. He received the CINDY award for his ASL CD‑rom series. His latest companies he was working on with partners and son was Wellness Storehouse and Kaerwell. He dreamed of being God's mathematician and worked on creating and patenting Unified Math. He mentored many people. He moved to Enterprise, UT in his later years and has made many cherished friends here. 

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‑day Saints he loved teaching the gospel to anyone who would listen. He taught youth classes, gospel doctrine, seminary, scouts, firesides and family sides. We loved listening to his stories and songs. He studied ancient documents along with his father and categorized their research on Restoration Evidences website. 

Throughout his life he traveled extensively. Some of his most memorable trips are going to Israel with his wife, children, parents and grandparents. He enjoyed traveling with family members to China, Japan, Central and South America, as well as the many cross country road trips to see family including a 2 day drive with 11 passengers in a 9 seater suburban to Canada.

Words used to describe Dad by his children: strong, brave, spiritual, sweet, funny, teacher, kind, loving, giving, optimist, passionate, revelation receiver, patriarch, storyteller of little Ranel stories. 

He is survived by his wife Kathleen of Enterprise, UT. His children, Kaer (Ryan) Neumann, Renaun (Eve) Erickson, Reuel (Kim) Erickson, Shoshana (Adam) Nelson, Raphael Erickson, Ananda (Steve) O’Neal, Asenath (Loren) Lawton, Kokena (Adam) Donnelly, and Ivaylo (Kate) Gatev. Also, his parents Einar and Georgia and siblings; Ty, LaStar, Shara, and Renvic. His memory will live on in his 28 grandchildren. 

Funeral services will be held on Friday, May 11, 2018 at 1:30 pm at the Enterprise Chapel, 620 E Main St. Enterprise. A visitation will be held Thursday evening at 7:00 to 8:30 pm and prior to services on Friday from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the same location. Internment will take place in the Enterprise Cemetery following the funeral service. 

We would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses, and staff of the ICU at Dixie Regional Medical Center for their loving care and compassion.