Jan. 15, 1937 - Sept. 25, 2022 Vera's life was full of kindness for her family and others. She excelled at intellectual pursuits and she was a woman ahead of her time. Vera passed peacefully after fighting a long battle with Alzheimer's. She was born into an already large family, the 8th child of what would become 19 children. They lived in the small town of Nopeming, MN near the Tuberculosis Hospital in a three-bedroom house. As with her older siblings, at the age of 12, she left her home to live with and care for another family. Vera was an excellent student and graduated Valedictorian from Proctor High School in 1955. Even though Vera was offered a full scholarship to Carlton College, she chose to stay close to home and attend the U of M, Duluth Campus. She earned her B.S. degree, cum laude in 1959. In 1973, Vera moved to Minneapolis with her 3 young children and completed work on her PhD in Educational Psychology. She accepted a position as a Professor at the U of M and had a long, illustrious career in which she won a National Research Award (1976) and published many important, scholarly articles. Vera was much loved by her many students. She traveled the world by giving speeches at conferences and universities and was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education in 1980-81. Vera's studies focused on longitudinal data about young women's moral and ego growth. She was able to contribute towards making changes to the way women were valued and appreciated in this world. Vera was a feminist at heart. She valued fairness, honesty and justice. They were the pillars of her moral being. Vera joined other female colleagues at the U of M in a class-action lawsuit for equal pay and promotion. She helped change the culture, and mentored other women that were struggling to find equality. Vera retired from her position as Associate Professor in 2005. She cherished spending time with her grandchildren. The last several years Vera lived in a memory care home together with her sister Jan who was a godsend for her. They loved and laughed together, and that helped make their lives more enjoyable. Preceding her in death were her parents, Edna and Adolph Erickson and seven sisters and a brother. Vera is survived by her three children and their families: Maureen Murphy, Kathleen Murphy and Daniel Murphy, and four grandchildren, Kelly, Lanie, Abigail, and Elizabeth, in addition to several siblings. We gratefully acknowledge the kindness and love of Vera's sisters Janice Gnotta and Connie Grumdahl and the staff at The Glenn in Minnetonka. A Celebration of Life will be held at Wayzata Country Club, 200 Wayzata Blvd. 55391, on Friday October 14, 11am-2:00pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association.

Published on October 9, 2022