Erika Margarete Price

Erika Margarete Price (née Artelt), 91, of Peotone, Illinois, passed away peacefully on August 25, 2025.

She was born on May 1, 1934, in Freiburg, Germany to Herbert Johann Artelt and Helene Margaret Pistol Artelt. Erika’s early years were shaped by the upheavals of World War II. Her father, Herbert, spent time as a prisoner of war in Italy before returning in 1947. Her grandfather, August Pistole was killed, and her grandmother Anna Pistol, was injured in the violence of 1945. These tragedies marked her childhood, yet Erika carried her family’s story forward with strength.

In 1952, at the age of 17, Erika and her family immigrated to the United States. On the ocean crossing, she met Byron Edmund Price, a young U.S. Merchant Marine. Two years later, on October 9, 1954, they married in Gardena, California, and began their life together. Together they raised five children and built a lasting family home.

Erika’s life in America was one of perseverance and family. In 1958, she was named “Queen for a Day” on the national radio and tv program, where she shared her story as a displaced person who had found a new home. It was a moment of recognition that captured her journey of loss, resilience, and renewal.

She is survived by her children: Byron (Butch) Price Jr. of Manteno, Joseph Price (Val Fiedler) of Peotone, Stephen (Steve) Price of Irvine, California, and Kevin Price (Tracy Boss) of Tinley Park. She was preceded in death by her husband Byron, her son Michael Price, her brother John (Heinz) Artelt, and her sister Sigrid (Itsa) Artelt.

Erika was a devoted grandmother to her seven grandchildren: Jennifer Price (and her dog Java), Sheila Lundberg (Billy), Stephanie Anne Price (Diego Menchero Mora), Matthew Price (Elizabeth), Crysta Price, and Luke Price; and a growing number of great-grandchildren, Brayden and Addison Lundberg, Audrey Alma and Archie Alvero, and William and Ellis. Her family remembers her as a warm, steady presence who loved nothing more than gathering her family together. In her later years, she especially cherished the company of her tiny dog Mickey, who rarely left her side.

Her family remembers her not only as a witness to history, but as a loving presence who carried forward both the strength of her German roots and the hope of her American life.

Visitation will be held at Fedde-Helfrich-Cross Funeral Home on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. with funeral services being held at 1:00 p.m., Rev. Terry Krouskoupf officiating. Burial will follow at Peotone Cemetery.

Share a memory at www.feddehelfrichcrossfh.com