Robert Arnold Carlson

Bob was born on November 2, 1936, to Anna Zampedri Carlson and Arnold V. Carlson in Ogden, Utah. He died at home on June 18, 2026, at the age of 89. He attended Ogden High School and the University of Utah where he earned a degree in Psychology. He also met his future wife, Janette Larsen, while attending the University, to whom he was happily married to for the next 65 years.

Bob married into a family with lots of opinions. Wisely, for over sixty years, he practiced a measured and diplomatic reserve. This strategy served him well through hundreds of family gatherings and left most of us wondering “What’s Bob’s opinion?” and finally concluding “Pretty sure he agrees with us.”

His dream as a young teenager was to become a great Jazz saxophone player. He took a few lessons from “the famous” Joe McQueen from Ogden’s 25th Street, and even spent a night in jail for being in a Jazz bar late one night with his friends, listening to music. They were all underage.

Although he never became the great Jazz player he dreamed about, his grandson, Spencer, did. He probably often wished some of the rest of us could share his enthusiasm for Jazz. This was, for the most part, not the case. But some things can’t be helped and if he judged us for our lack of good taste, he hid it well. “Who’s Bill Evans?” musta’ been painful to him — sorry Bob.

As a systems programmer at Kennecott Copper, Bob survived many rounds of layoffs in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. He was as surprised as anyone, but they must have liked his style. In the run up to the Y2K panic, some asked Bob, “Aren’t you concerned about the computers at the mine?” “No” he said in a matter-of-fact way, “we took care of the problem a couple of years ago”. That was Bob, he took care of a lot of things, “a couple of years ago”, that most of us plan to take care of any day now.

His hobbies were the pastoral pastimes of golf, fly fishing at Flaming Gorge and skiing (until he broke his leg at Alta). Pastoral has its limits though and it’s difficult to picture Bob astride a horse or tending livestock. On the other hand, it wouldn’t surprise anyone if he knew something about both; there were always books on a variety of subjects near at hand. Traveling with family and friends to exotic places kept him very busy during retirement.

Bob is survived by his wife Janette; son, Eric (Jessica), daughter, Kirsten (Robert Alder); grandchildren, Alex, Spencer & Andrea Carlson; Brother-in-Law, Ken Larsen, (Jill Tsukamoto) and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Henry (Karen) and Sisters-in-Law, Nancy Chavis (Jim) and Melanie Larsen.

There will be no formal service at this time and burial will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to Guide Dogs for the Blind or enjoy an afternoon of your favorite music.