After more than five decades as a labor and delivery nurse at Enumclaw Regional Hospital and as a midwife, Toni Erickson is retiring.

In her honor, friends are looking for everyone who was supported by Erickson during labor and delivery, at either the hospital or for a home birth, to meet for a group photograph at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Enumclaw High School gymnasium.

Jane Krohn estimates her mother has delivered at least 1,500 children in the 20 years since starting her private midwifery practice and many thousands in the 30 years prior that she spent as a labor and delivery nurse. Krohn said her mother began her career as a labor and delivery nurse at age 21.

Erickson was diagnosed in May with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, and retired shortly thereafter to battle the disease. Also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, it is a disease of the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement.

Friends are also putting together a photo album, a quilt and a book for Erickson.