Chris Carlsson

COLUMBIA - A funeral service for Christabel Jeanne Bettes (Chris) Carlsson, 81, will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday, February 9, 2024 at Our Lady of the Hills Catholic Church, with burial following in Bush River Memorial Gardens. A lunch reception at the church will follow the graveside service. The family will receive friends from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 8 at Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel.

Chris died Thursday, January 25, 2024. Born on Christmas Day, 1942 in New Brunswick, New Jersey, she was the daughter of the late Russell Morse Bettes and Evelyn Macom Wall Bettes. She is a graduate of Princeton High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Douglass College, now part of Rutgers University.

She became an honorary South Carolinian in 1966 when she married Dr. Robert Carlsson, who had recently joined the Economics faculty at the University of South Carolina. Her professional career supporting law enforcement spanned nearly 30 years, first for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Association (SCLEOA) and then for the South Carolina Sheriffs' Association.

A talented painter, Chris was an active member of the local visual arts community. She served as president of the Seven Oaks Art League, treasurer of the Crooked Creek Art League, and a longtime member of the Trenholm Artists Guild (TAG). Her oils and watercolors have won awards at art league shows and at the South Carolina State Fair, and her work hangs in several locations around Columbia.

Surviving are her husband, Dr. Robert Johan Carlsson; daughter, Betty Carlsson Gardiner (Robert); son, John Carlsson; and grandchildren Ellen Gardiner Clements (Daniel) and Robert Gardiner.

The family wishes to thank the Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit of Prisma Richland Memorial Hospital for their compassionate care of Chris and her family.

Memorials may be made to The Joseph B. Cross Foundation (www.thejosephbcrossfoundation.org), established by the Cross family in memory of the best friend of Chris’ son, John. The foundation supports programs that enrich the everyday lives of individuals with special needs.

Memories may be shared at www.dunbarfunerals.com.