John Ludwig Carlson

John was born in Seattle on July 5, 1921 to Ida and Ludwig J. Carlson. He had two brothers, Milton and Stanford. Stanford was 15 years older and Milton was 10 when he tragically drowned in Alaska in the year that John was born.

As he was growing up, John spent summers in Alaska where his Dad worked in salmon canneries as a bookkeeper. His Cousin Kay's family was also there and they became very close.

When he was 10, his mother died of a burst appendix while his dad was in Alaska. After this sad event, they lived for 4 years with his Dad's sister Amy and her husband, Joe.

His Dad re-married to Myrtle Robinson when John was 14. When he was 17, his dad helped him a land a job on a floating crab cannery in Alaska on the ship Tondelayo. He had many adventures on the boat looking for crabs to catch in their nets. He stayed through the summer, winter, and when spring came the company closed and he and the other men were paid $35 and a pair of hip boots as their wages.

He went back to Seattle and finished high school.

After competing school, He went back to Alaska and spent the next year and a half working as a machinist helper. He then returned to Seattle to attend a sheet metal school and obtained a job in that field when the WW 2 broke out.

He heard about jobs in the Philippines from coworkers. But those jobs were filled, and instead he ended up in Pearl Harbor working as a machinist helper in the Navy yard, starting six months after the Pearl Harbor attack. After 18 months in Honolulu, John was drafted and served in the Navy in Tinian in the Marianna Islands until the war was over.

After the war, he had several different jobs while trying to find his way in life, including photography. He went to photography school in New York under the GI bill. Before going to New York, he had met his future wife, Betty Burt, while roller-skating. He established himself in a regular job with B.F. Goodrich, Foothill Division, and he and Betty were married 9-4-47. Over the next four years, they were blessed with two daughters, Barbara Ellen and Donna Jean. John and Betty enjoyed camping and picnics with the girls as they were growing up. They joined Bethel Lutheran Church when the girls were young and were members until they died.

John was laid off after 16 years with Goodrich. So he went to work for Tandy Leather and worked there for several years. While at Tandy, he learned to tool leather goods and enjoyed this as a hobby. Because he had to work on Saturdays, and as a devoted family man, he wanted to spend more time with his family so he decided to look for another job. He found a good job at Lockheed Shipbuilding, but unfortunately he had an industrial accident, which caused a broken leg. He had five operations and took 13 months off recuperating. He went back to Lockheed but got laid off.

In the meantime, Betty was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was soon confined to a wheel chair. He became her full time caregiver.

For the next 20 years, they made a happy life for themselves despite complications of her disease and were still active in their church and with family, friends, and grand kids. The Lord sustained them through all their hardships. They were married 46 years before Betty died of cancer in 1994.

John continued to stay in his own home until he had trouble with his legs and began falling, and had to go into a retirement home. After seven years there, he fell and broke his arm and had to move to a rehab facility. His legs decided not to hold him up sufficiently and this became his permanent home.

John was always good-natured and friendly, and made the best of his situation. He was a godly man who set that example for his family and others to follow. I'm sure he was welcomed into heaven with "well done, good and faithful servant."

He will be missed greatly.