It may sound corny, Ken Erickson says, but when he thinks of his mother, Maxine, there is an image that leaps to mind - the beautiful and strong-willed protagonist of the Puccini opera and 1938 film Girl of the Golden West.

Set in the high Sierras, the show centers on the town's lone female, who outwits and charms the men who surround her to save her one true love.

Like that character, Maxine Erickson toughed it out, spending her formative years during the Depression on a dry cattle ranch and potato farm in Wyoming.

After high school, she saved enough money to attend college and earn a teaching certificate. She put it to use in a one-room schoolhouse in Hat Creek, Wyo., where she spent the early morning killing rattlesnakes and the rest of the day teaching children.

Later, she became a key player in Democratic politics in Denver.

"She was a true 'Girl of the Golden West,' " Ken Erickson said.

Maxine Erickson died Feb. 21 after a stay in hospice. She was 99.

Born Jan. 21, 1908, in Gallands Grove, Iowa, to Bessie Cross and Roscoe Holcombe, her father died while she was an infant. The family moved to Dow City, Iowa, where her mother later married a stockman named Frank Reed.

They then settled on about 160 acres in Lusk, Wyo., where Mrs. Erickson played varsity girls basketball. After graduation she worked as deputy tax assessor of Niobrara County and then attended the University of Wyoming.

It was there that Algot "Al" E. Erickson serenaded his future wife as she stood at the window of her dormitory, her son said. They were married on New Year's Day in 1928, the same year Ken was born and the family was transferred to Pueblo by Al's employer.

Al Erickson served in the military during World War II, and the family moved to Texas.

They returned to Denver, where Maxine's interest in politics grew.

In 1960, she was Democratic Party co-chairwoman.

Mrs. Erickson worked for many years as a clerk in the city court system. She retired in 1973. Several attorneys have told Ken Erickson they learned much of what they know about probate from her.

Mrs. Erickson was preceded in death by her husband in 1988. She is survived by her son, of Aurora, and a grandson, Christopher E. Erickson, of La Jolla, Calif.

A memorial service was held Feb. 28. Burial was private.

burnetts@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5343