Alice M. Carlson

Alice was born on February 19, 1924 to Clyde and Grace Haas in Chalk, Kansas. Her parent’s occupations, as recorded on her birth certificate, were farmer and housewife. She had two older siblings, Vona and Clyde Jr. They were raised on a farm and enjoyed the typical farm activities of swimming in the pond, riding the horse Barney (and getting bucked off), collecting eggs and generally helping around the farm. Her brother Clyde Jr. died serving his country in WWII. Vona married Ed Falter. They had a daughter, Janet, who married Bob Goss. Janet and Bob have a daughter and son Pam and Eric.

On June 15, 1947, Alice married the love of her life, Bill Carlson, at the Topeka United Methodist Church in Kansas. They met at a dance and that was the beginning of their beautiful love story that lasted 73 glorious years. They both worked for the Santa Fe Railroad. Bill was transferred to Fort Madison, IA for just two years before returning to Topeka. They had their first son, Greg Lee, in Fort Madison. Greg now resides in St Louis, MO. When they returned to Topeka, they had their second son, Brad Eugene who now resides with his wife, Eloise, in Clifton, VA. They have two children, Sara Alison and Sam Connor.

Bill and Alice raised their sons in Topeka. Alice was the consummate homemaker and home decorator. She always took pride in how she looked and how her home looked. She never left the house without her hair curled and coiffed, her lipstick on and matching jewelry. She always liked to cook for her family too. Alice always made a birthday cake for her boys. The favorite family event was taking Alice’s hot dogs and popcorn to the drive-in movie.

After Bill retired from the railroad in 1979, Alice and Bill continued to live in Topeka until 1992 when they moved to Sun Lakes, Arizona. They liked living in a retirement community and Alice joined the Bridge Club where she took card playing very seriously. None of those games were as vicious or rowdy as the family pitch card games though. The Carlsons played pitch into the wee hours of the night with lots of raucous fun. Alice would start every day working on a crossword puzzle and end with her appointment viewing of Wheel of Fortune. In between she and Bill would enjoy lunch or dinner out. Sunday would find them in their Sun Lakes United Methodist Church.

Alice was kind and generous. She loved her family. We will miss her.