Love Stories: Cliff and Cynthia Erickson

Cliff and Cynthia Erickson have a unique story. They were born the same day, same year, at the same hospital and delivered by the same doctor, Dr. John Black, less than 90 minutes apart. Years later, they would marry and start a family.

Seventy years ago, on Oct. 18, two men sat in the Sacred Heart Hospital maternity waiting room. This was when Sacred Heart was still a small brick building between Eighth and Ninth avenues. Each was expecting his third child. Soon Chet Erickson was informed that his wife, Adeline, had just given birth to a healthy baby boy. His name would be Cliff. About an hour and 17 minutes later, the same doctor informed Sam Durante that his wife, Joan, had just given birth to a healthy little girl. They would name her Cynthia. In 1950, babies were not kept in their mother’s room, so both children were put in the nursery, where parents and visitors could view them through a large, glass window. Both mothers would have been in the same maternity ward, except Joan Durante had a cold and was placed in a private room.

Cliff and Cynthia grew up within blocks of each other on the South Hill. Cliff attended Adams Grade School, and then Ferris High School, which at the time was for grades 7-12. Cynthia attended Sheridan Grade School, then Libby Junior High, then Ferris. Cynthia and Cliff knew who of each other, but they ran in different circles at Ferris. They graduated in the same class.

Cynthia married shortly after high school, and had a son who, incidentally, was delivered by Dr. Black. Unfortunately, that marriage did not work out. In April 1972, Cliff and Cynthia ran into each other at the Rathskeller Inn in Coeur d’Alene. They spent the evening talking to each other. The next day, Cliff had planned to help a friend haul garbage to the dump; instead, he took Cynthia to lunch at the Shack restaurant. Cliff was in the Army and stationed at Fort Lewis and would come to Spokane to visit Cynthia practically every weekend. Four months later, in August 1972, Cliff was being transferred to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. It was then that they married, moved to El Paso, and stayed a year until Cliff was discharged from the Army. They returned to Spokane to live and raise a family.

Cynthia and Cliff will celebrate their 49th wedding anniversary this year. They have four children, three boys and one girl. They currently have eight grandchildren, but by July that number will grow to 10.