Lois Roberta Carlson

May 24, 1934 – December 13, 2016

Fort Myers, Florida — Lois Roberta Lehman Carlson, a Minnesota native who resided in Fort Myers, Florida, died December 13, 2016 at the Hope Hospice House in Bonita Springs, Florida, after a long illness. She was 82.

Lois was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 24, 1934 to Robert and Lillian Lehman. She spent her childhood in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, where she attended Murray High School. She studied at Hamline University, and later earned her associate degree at Rochester Community College.

Lois met her husband, Roger, in St. Paul on a blind date set up by her sister. They were married on August 20, 1955. As newlyweds, Lois and Roger lived in St. Louis Park, where they had their first son, Gene. In 1963, they moved to Rochester, Minnesota, when Roger took a job at the Mayo Clinic.

In Rochester, Lois and Roger had their second son, Bradley. They lived in Rochester for 30 years, where Lois worked at Mayo’s Rochester Methodist Hospital and volunteered at the Olmsted County Historical Society. After retirement, Lois and Roger moved to Shorewood, Minnesota and began spending their winters in Fort Myers, Florida.

Lois spent many hours volunteering for the Steamboat Minnehaha, a turn-of-the-century streetcar boat dredged from the bottom of Lake Minnetonka and lovingly restored for passenger use. She belonged to the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War and was a card-carrying member of the Lois Club. She loved animals, and was a talented photographer and genealogist. She traced the Carlson and Lehman/Endresen families back to their Scandinavian roots, traveling all the way to Norway to find records and meet distant relatives.

Lois and Roger were avid travelers, and following Roger’s retirement, they were fortunate to be able to travel the world. They enjoyed spending time with their sons, grandchildren and granddogs in Florida, New York City, and Michigan. They celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on August 20, 2016. As a rare and debilitating lung condition began to take its toll on Lois’s health, Roger diligently cared for her. She was able to remain at home until her last full day of life.

Preceding Lois in death were her parents, Robert & Lillian Lehman, and a grandson, Scott Allan Carlson.

Surviving Lois are her husband, Roger (Fort Myers), son Gene and his wife, Tracy, (Miami), son Bradley (Miami Beach), granddaughters Jacqueline and Caitlin (Gene’s daughters) and sister, Janet Lehman MacDowell (Peoria, Arizona).

Lois requested that gifts in her memory be made to the Doris Day Animal League, 1255 23rd St. NW, Washington, DC 20037 / 800-874-6708 (www.ddal.org); National LGBTQ Task Force, 1325 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005 / 202.393.5177 (www.thetaskforce.org); and St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church, 3121 Groveland School Road, Minnetonka, MN 55391 / 952.473.7378 (www.stluke.mn).

Two memorial services will be held: one in Fort Myers, Florida, in January 2017, and a second in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area next spring. Please contact the family for details.

Arrangements under the direction of HODGES-KISER FUNERAL HOME, Fort Myers, FL.