Following is the obituary for GEORGE KNIGHT ERICKSON, submitted by his family.

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George Knight Erickson passed away peacefully at his home on April 3, 2024.  

Born in 1937, George’s parents, George Sr. and Nell Knight Erickson, raised George and his sister Pamela in Pelham N.Y.  His childhood was filled with boats, sports and playing his tenor sax. 

George earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Colgate, where stories about the adventures as a proud member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity were legendary. After graduation, he became an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, ultimately earning the rank of captain. The Marine Corps motto, “Semper Fi,” Always Faithful, would be a reflection of the life he went on to lead. 

George met his wife, Susan Ostrom, in 1955. They were married in 1960 and soon after packed up and moved to Quantico, Va., where their daughter, Kristin, was born.  After the corps, George and Susan moved to Connecticut, eventually settling in Westport where their children, Kristin, Martha and Jon were raised. Using the skills he learned while repairing the fraternity house after particularly raucous parties, he discovered a passion restoring old houses. George saw the potential in antique homes that nobody else was willing to tackle and took on the challenge.  

Beginning with a 1789 Federal home in Greens Farms, George put his skills to work on homes in Southport village, a summer home on Clam Island in Branford and finally a Victorian on Mill Hill, Southport. George was often found perched high atop scaffolding replacing shingles or on his hands and knees sanding wide plank 18th-Century floorboards.    

As a father George was a dad among dads. He drove the van kids wanted to be in when it came time to go to soccer tournaments, scout camping trips or even rides to college. You could always depend on him to be there on the sidelines of any game, concert and graduation ceremony, proudly bragging about his children and grandchildren. He was Grampa George, always there to give tractor rides, take boats out to haul in lobster pots and meet any request his grandchildren came up with.

His career started as a door-to-door Fuller Brush salesman in Westchester leading to a marketing position at Glendinning, and ultimately founding his direct-mail business, Curriculum Resources. Owning his own business allowed him the freedom he craved. He referred to money as “bongo beans” because it was the people in his life and not the money he earned that mattered to him most.  

George had friendships lasting a lifetime, most notably fellow Westporter Jon Fox, whom he met in seventh-grade homeroom in 1949. George and Susan would enjoy time together traveling to unusual places throughout the world from the time they were in their 20s until late in life. Ever the volunteer and proud Marine, George enjoyed building floats for the Memorial Day parade with the Y’s Men of Westport/Weston as well as brewing oceans of coffee for local meetings. 

George is survived by his wife, Susan; children, Martha and Jonathan, and his seven grandchildren, Guthrie, Aria, Riley, Nell, Mullein, Romy and Faye. George was predeceased by his daughter, Kristin. Please consider making a donation in his name to Visiting Nurse and Hospice of Fairfield County.  

We will miss his laughter, big crushing hugs and silly jokes. He was loved by many and we will miss him. The next time you go out and see a sailboat on the water, hear cheering families on a sideline, or the whir of a Skil saw, think of him. We sure will.