Anne Wollerman Carson

1945 - 2021

Loving sister, wife, mother, Boulder community member, and Colorado native Anne Wollerman Carson passed away on Sunday, November 14, 2021, at the Academy at Bella Vista memory care after a 5-year journey through Alzheimer's. During her time at Bella Vista, she was surrounded by loving family, caregivers, friends, and church and community members who brought her life, love, joy and, finally, peace. Born in Denver to Elizabeth F. Griffey, an elementary school teacher, and Alexander B. Kudalis, a mining engineer, Anne grew up in Englewood, attending both public and private Catholic schools, before graduating from Englewood High School and receiving a B.A. from Creighton University. She then joined the Peace Corps where she spent two years teaching English and Asian history in Malaysia on the island of Borneo, an experience that foreshadowed her lifelong passions for helping others, volunteering, and selflessly sharing her compassion for those less fortunate or in need of self empowerment. After returning to the States, she began working in regional plant nurseries and became an expert in botanical classifications and local plant species. During this time she also married Fred Wollerman Sr. and had her first son, Geoffrey. Through her plant nursery experience, her love grew for horticulture, gardening, and the aesthetic joys of plants and their ecosystems. She founded Westlands, a landscape design and installation company, where she loved to work closely with clients, using her deep knowledge of local ecosystems and native plants to help realize their dreams. In 1984 she married her second husband and grade-school classmate, David Carson, a well-known, longtime architect in Boulder, with whom she reconnected at their 20th high school reunion. Always willing to remake herself, she pulled up her deep Denver roots and re-potted them in Boulder, where for the next 38 years she and David raised their sons, Andrew and Geoffrey. As a mother and a wife she was practical, compassionate, supportive, and encouraging, always emphasizing the benefits of planning ahead, proper manners, correct grammar, and the embrace of empathy. Not a practical joker or a natural socialite, she nonetheless had a great sense of humor and an appreciation for the wit of others, as well as a tender and playful spirit, a caring heart, and an artist's eye for the world. While she spent much of her early professional career working with plants and improving both public and private spaces, she was later drawn to affordable housing and community planning and earned her master's degree in urban planning from the University of Colorado Denver. She then joined Thistle Community Housing, a local nonprofit providing affordable housing in Boulder. She and her husband David both loved walking the local foothills, bicycling, and traveling widely in Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. She was a tireless, year-round gardener and lover of plants; attended many self-exploratory retreats; was an accomplished writer and avid reader; and had a fantastic flair for the art of quilting, creating gorgeous quilts and fabric art for family members and her church, Community United Church of Christ in Boulder. As an active member of her church, Anne always led from behind and was a founder of the church's Caring Ministry. She later pivoted from landscape design work to earn a certificate in spiritual direction and start her own practice as a personal coach for those seeking guidance in their own spiritual journey. The light, love, and grace she brought into the world through her actions and caring heart helped change many lives and left an indelible, loving impression on her family, friends, and the community. Anne is survived by her husband David Carson; her two sons, Andrew Carson and Geof Wollerman; her older brother Michael Kudalis; her younger sister Elizabeth James; and her nieces and nephews. For those who have been touched by her love and kindness, a memorial service will be held in early 2022 to celebrate Anne's life. Donations in her memory can be made to the Alzheimer's Research Foundation or Community Food Share. To see and share Anne's obituary online, please search the obituary listings at www.gmfuneral.com.