Ester Viola Rawls Erickson, 94, of Archer, died July 1, 2010 at Homestead Assisted Living in St. Anthony. She was born in Temple, Texas on Sept. 28, 1915 to Dencie Bennett Rawls and Alice Winnifred Rawls. The second of eight children, she spent most of her childhood in east Texas and west Louisiana picking cotton in the fields.
The hard labor and hot days were made more endurable by her highly active imagination. She had two imaginary friends Heekushikushokus and Mingus, with whom she had many adventures. While working in the fields she enjoyed making up stories and poems. She also enjoyed reading, especially westerns.
When Viola was a teenager her family moved to Archer, carrying everything and everyone in a small truck. There Viola met Herman Eugene Erickson, known as Gene by all who knew him. He was 10 years her senior but Viola was immediately smitten by the slim soft spoken, blue-eyed cowboy.
He apparently fought the inevitable for a while, but finally gave in one night and offered the beautiful spunky, young Texan a ride home from a church activity on his horse.
They were married Nov. 30, 1934, in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple. Viola was 19 and Gene was 29.
Over the next 18 years they had five children, Denver, Alton, ("Skinny,") Bonnie (Hamilton) Dyle and Val.
The youngest was only 5 months old, and Viola only 37, when a stroke took Gene's life on March 6, 1953. She was left a widow with 5 mouths to feed and only an eighth grade education.
Over the next several years she worked as a school bus driver, a housekeeper and a secretary for Farm Bureau Insurance, Utah Power & Light and the Sunnydell Irrigation District.
Viola has had a passion for the written word her whole life. She has remained an avid reader and writer over the years. To supplement her limited education, she has successfully completed multiple writing courses and has written scores of touching, witty and insightful poems and short stories for family members, friends and special events. Her crowning work was her novel, "The Ones We Love" which was published in 1998. She had started the novel as a 19-year-old newlywed.
Viola has 17 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren
Her family and friends respect her for her strength and love her for her fire. She is truly a great woman. We love you.
Viola's family wants to thank The Homestead Assisted Living of St. Anthony for the love and care they gave to Viola while she was there and for the support and understanding the family received during Viola last days. The Homestead nurse Jessica and the Hospice nurse Ambrea were so kind to Viola, thank you.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 8 at the Archer LDS Chapel. The family will receive friends Wednesday evening from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Flamm Funeral Home in Rexburg and Thursday from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the church prior to services.