Roy C. Carlson

Roy C. Carlson, long time former Richland resident died September 3, 2008, in Crystal Lake, Illinois. He was born July 30, 1916, in Seattle, Washington.

He is survived by his wife June Hilber Carlson whom he married on September 13, 1941, at Hope Lutheran Church in Seattle, Washington. He is also survived by his sons Walter R. Nancy Carlson of Huntley, Illinois, and Kenneth R. Claudia Carlson of Sacramento, California; by his grandchildren Roy W. Kathy Carlson of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, John K. Dolly Carlson of Highland, Michigan, and Catherine E. Matthew Armstrong of Allen, Texas; and by his great-grandchildren Corinne, Colin and Cade Carlson. He is also survived by his brother Walter L. Jacee Carlson of Richland, by his sister Jean John Cornish of Seattle, and by numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents Otto and Emily Carlson, and by his brother Carl Edwin Carlson. He graduated from West Seattle High School in 1934 and attended the University of Washington from 1936 to 1939. He was employed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, from 1939 to 1947 where he was a draftsman in the Heating and Ventilating group repairing ships that had been damaged at Pearl Harbor. In 1947 he accepted a position as a mechanical designer with General Electric in Richland, Washington. He was later employed by Battelle Northwest at Hanford where he designed test equipment for nuclear fuels development. He holds a patent for some of this equipment.

He was a member of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Richland for 60 years where he served in many church offices.

Roy was an avid fisherman and spent many hours in pursuit of salmon, steelhead and pan fish in his native Washington state. He and June also attended over 25 programs sponsored by Elderhostel. Bridge was another favorite pastime. He assisted running the Richland Senior Center Duplicate Bridge Club for many years. In 1999 he expressed his philosophy of life in a letter to his granddaughter where he advised the younger generation not to smoke, to drink only moderately, to get as much education as possible, to attend church, to find the right spouse, and to enjoy the life that God gives you.

Because of declining health, he moved to Illinois in 2006 to be near family. He and his wife were residing at the Fountains in Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Visitation will be held Sunday, September 14, from 3 pm to 7 pm at Einan's Funeral Home in Richland. A memorial service will be held at 11am, Monday, September 15, at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 520 Thayer Drive, Richland. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lutheran Hour Ministries in care of Redeemer Lutheran Church.