Marjorie Helen Carlson

On Tuesday, November 14, 2023 Marjorie Helen Carlson went to be with the Lord after a long battle with Alzheimer's, a disease that robbed us of the last 5 years of her life. Marjorie was born on August 13, 1950 in a small town in Kentucky. She was the youngest of 9 siblings and often referred to adoringly by her sisters as the baby. Despite moving across the country she always maintained a close relationship with her siblings. She was preceded in death by her husband Donald Carlson, Mother Elma Franklin-Haycraft, her father Paul Vincent Haycraft, her brothers Robert Joseph Haycraft, James Franklin Haycraft, Paul Loren Haycraft and survived by her sisters Norma Jean Milay, Mary Bernice Miles, Ramona Ann Graham, and Marilyn Rice.

Margie moved from California at the age of 19 to Chicken, Alaska with her first husband Donald Carlson, where they built their log home and later moved it to Tok. Her husband passed away in 1989 and she remarried Guy Matthew in 1992 and become a stepmother to Iris and Orion. She lived the majority of her life in the community she loved and spent a few years after retiring in Hawaii. She worked many jobs over the years, 40 Mile Air, Three Bears, Bullshooter, and for many years she was the voice that all the Alaska State Troopers in Tok and the surrounding area heard as she was the dispatcher there for over a decade. She had an unmistakable and infectious laugh that could be heard over any amount of people. She was always smiling, always happy with the best sense of humor.

Her biggest accomplishments were not her many jobs or her long career as a dispatcher, it was her family. Because of her younger age, she formed a bond with her daughter-in-law Cindy that was closer to a sister than a mother. They shared a very close friendship for over 40 years. She helped raise her 3 granddaughters Jamie, Sara, and Diane. She was there for their births and everyday after until they had children of their own. She was very present and involved with them to say the least. There were many wonderful memories sleeping over at her house, holidays shared, school activities that she volunteered for and the time she gave us all was the best blessing we could have asked for. She even went to far as to volunteer to drive with her granddaughter Sara and her Mother from Fairbanks to Cheney, Washington in the back seat of a 2-door car, so that she could take her granddaughter to college. She was later blessed with more babies to spoil, grandsons Jude and Oliver, granddaughters Willow and River. She had 3 great-grandsons: Mathew, Ethan and Dustin, and 5 great-granddaughters: Makena, Katelynn, Raegan, Lacey and Logan. Hanai mother Kimiko Cook of Waikoloa Hawai'i. Hanai daughters Bernadette Aki, Starlite Kaopuiki, Jontei Vincent of Kamuela, Hawai'i and Jade Halama of Hilo, Hawai'i, numerous hanai grandchildren and great-grandchildren. All of which were spoiled rotten and loved to the fullest.

Margie was also known for her beautiful garden and her love of running. She started running later in life with no previous love for the sport. She started on the bike paths in Tok and worked her way u to the running the Tok Trot and then completed the Equinox three times (26 miles).

How do you summarize her life when she was bigger than life and louder! She had a life filled with adventures, filled with family that loved her and a community that adored her. She was wild and crazy, always acted younger than her years. She was spunky with bright colored hair, she had more tattoos than all her grandkids combined and had the heart of a kid. She will be greatly missed.

Heavenly Father, in the tapestry of eternity, we trust in the promise of joyful reunions. As our loved ones transition to the heavenly realm, we anticipate the day when we will be united once again. May the hope of reunion bring comfort to our grief-stricken souls, and may we find solace in the prospect of eternal togetherness. Amen.

A Celebration of Life will be held on January 4, 2024, at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Kamuela, Hawai'i. Visitation is at 9 am and Mass at 10 am.