Church Can’t Believe What They Found Inside A Donated Home

A man with no family passed away and left his home to his church. The church people were touched by this gesture, but they had no idea what they were in for. When the chief financial officer finally entered the property to check it out, she was shocked.

Dennis Erickson, 69, had a passionate hobby. The unmarried man who never had any children devoted a great deal of his time and money to one of his favorite things in the world: cars.

walked in, she found a house full of cars. Wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling shelves held thousands of models of cars. Miniature cars covered every available surface. File cabinets were full of vintage car brochures, catalogues and memorabilia. Even the garage was full of classic cars.

In total, there are more than 30,000 items in Erickson’s collection. The man, a retired engineer, kept detailed journals about his acquisitions, maintenance routines and routine tasks he would perform to care for his vast collection.

“I believe that using the gift that Dennis gave to impact future generations is exactly the way he would have wanted it to be,” says church Pastor Derrick Ross.

The church is planning to sell the collection, which is expected to fetch in the six-figure range. Lundstrum would like to see another passionate collector take possession of the whole thing. But she doesn’t think the cars, or the money they fetch, is his most important legacy. It’s ‘how people felt about him’ that will keep him in the hearts and minds of his church family.