Jon Carlson

1945 - 2017

Jon Douglas Carlson fully squeezed the most of out of his time on Earth. An active father of five children married to the love of his life for 50 years, Jon was a prolific scholar, educator, college professor, psychologist, competitive athlete, and advocate for helping others. He often dreamed of fishing and catching the big one, all along he was the big fish for those around him. Jon was born in Elgin, Illinois on November 2, 1945. He attended Elgin High School, and completed his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Southern Illinois- Carbondale. It was there that he met Laura Kathryn Twitchell and they were married on December 16, 1967. His first doctorate (Ed.D.) was in counseling and guidance from Wayne State University in 1971 and his second doctoral degree (Psy.D.) was in clinical psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago in 1990. His teaching career included positions at Wayne State University (1969-1971); Governors State University (1971-73; 1989-2014); Nova Southeastern University (1973-75); University of Hawaii (1976-77); University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1978-82); and the Adler School of Professional Psychology (1985-89). At the time of his passing, Jon was the Distinguished Professor of Adlerian Psychology at Adler University, Chicago and Professor Emeritus at Governors State University. Jon was a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) in six divisions, the American Counseling Association (ACA), and the Wisconsin Psychology Association. He held Diplomates in marriage and family therapy, family psychology, and Adlerian psychology. APA honored him with the Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training Award, and ACA designated him as one of the five "Living Legends in Counseling." Jon was a prolific scholar as the author of 64 books, over 185 professional articles and book chapters, and the creator of over 300 professional training videos that are being used in universities and training centers around the world. Jon was a licensed psychologist, marriage and family therapist, clinical counselor, school counselor, alcohol and drug counselor, and a certified sex therapist. He practiced in Illinois, Florida, and Hawaii and at the Lake Geneva Wellness Clinic for over 40 years. He had over 60,000 direct contact hours with individuals, couples and families. During this time he was also a school counselor and school psychologist for 38 years, including 34 years at Woods School in Lake Geneva, WI. Jon was an obsessed runner and was the men's cross country coach at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater from 1978-1982. Jon passed away on February 1, 2017 in Madison Wisconsin due to complications from a bone marrow transplant. He leaves behind his wife of 50 years and five children: Kirstin Carlson, Matt (Alison) Englar-Carlson, Karin (Joseph) Carlson-Snider, Ben Carlson, and Kali (David Glisczinski) Carlson. Jon never sweated the small stuff, didn't believe the heavy stuff would come down for awhile, and his family hopes that on his deathbed he received total consciousness. A celebration of Jon's life is planned for February 19, 2017 at the Horticultural Hall, 330 Broad St, in Lake Geneva, WI. Visitation with family is from 11am to 1pm, with a memorial celebration at 2pm.