Prairie Patriarch: A Farmer's Daughter Who Becomes an Expert Witness on Violent Crime

by Rosemary J. Erickson

How do you get from a farm in South Dakota to a lecture hall full of sociology students? For forensic sociologist Rosemary J. Erickson, PhD, it all started with her father. Without the hard work of Dewey Erickson, she would never have had the opportunity to discover her passion. Without the life lessons Dewey taught his children, Erickson would never have had the strength to pursue it.

Erickson looks back at her father as a young man and one of twelve children in a Norwegian American family. As the sixth son, Dewey was used to getting caught in the middle. He didn’t even have a middle name because his parents had run out of names by then! Dewey could have resigned himself to always being overlooked, but he refused to let that be his fate. Instead, he struck out on his own and formed his own family.

In this celebration of her father’s legacy, Erickson shows how Dewey carved a life for himself in the harsh wilderness of South Dakota. The lessons he taught her about perseverance, determination, and integrity gave her the strength to become an outstanding leader in a male-dominated field.

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 9, 2017

About the author

Rosemary J. Erickson, Ph.D. grew up on a farm in South Dakota and went on to become a nationally renowned expert witness on violent crime. She received a B.A. in psychology at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She later received her M.A. in Sociology at San Diego State University, and then her Ph.D. in Sociology: Justice at the American University in Washington, D.C. She has taught at the American University and San Diego State University. She has also consulted and trained corporations and government agencies worldwide in crime prevention and written other books on crime and its causes. She was part of the research team that developed the Robbery and Violence Prevention program for 7-Eleven, which was adopted by the National Association for Convenience Stores. It includes the use of height strip markers and low cash signs, as well as training and other components.
Rosemary's latest book Serial Killers & the Aftermath will be published Spring, 2018