Donald Wallace Carlson

Don Carlson

Donald Wallace Carlson, beloved husband, father, papa, brother, and coach, passed away peacefully on Dec. 12, 2015 in his home surrounded by family.

Don was born on April 17, 1945 to John and Edith Carlson in Van Nuys, CA. His family returned to Missouri shortly after Don's birth, and he always felt so blessed to have grown up in small-town Republic, MO. Don played on Republic's 1963 state championship basketball team, and he still holds Republic's career rebounding record with 1,627 rebounds. He attended Missouri State University, and he was a member of their 1967 NCAA Division II runner-up team. Don was inducted into the MSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991.

On August 18, 1967 Don married the love of his life, Phyllis Cox, who was his greatest source of strength and encouragement during his three-year journey with cancer. Don was a teacher for thirty years in Springfield Public Schools and coached at Kickapoo and Glendale receiving the Filbert Five award for outstanding achievement as an assistant basketball coach. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Don's devoted coaching partner, Mike Keltner, who led the DC-10 campaign in Don's honor which increased cancer awareness and collected funds to support cancer research.

Don was preceded in death by his parents and brother, John Charles. Don is survived by his wife Phyllis, his daughters Natalie Allen (Geoff) and Christy Keller (Mark), and five cherished grandchildren, Zach and Libby Allen, and Katie, Alyssa, and Miles Keller, his sister Carol Bock (Kurt), sisters-in-law Libby West and Carol Carlson, special cousins Elizabeth Bolton and Jeanie Erb, along with many nieces and nephews, and treasured life-long best friend Jim Ferguson, whom he loved as family. We would like to thank Dr. Leo Shunyakov and his entire staff for their compassionate and loving care.

Don was a class-act who deserves two thumbs up for teaching us all how to face adversity with grace and courage. Don never met a stranger, and we invite all of his beloved friends to join us at a "BIG-TIME" memorial celebration service honoring his life on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 10 am at Central Christian Church with a reception and visitation immediately following in the fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Donald Carlson Memorial, Central Christian Church, 1475 N. Washington Ave., Springfield, MO, 65802, or to the MSU Foundation, Attn: Coach Bill Thomas Endowed Scholarship, Meyer Alumni Center, 300 S. Jefferson, Springfield, MO, 65806.