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Katherine Carlson
Katherine Carlson
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Katherine Carlson Obituary
September 1, 1943 - April 1, 2025
Katherine Louise Carlson passed away at home on April 1, 2025. She left behind a lifetime of memories now shared by family, friends, and former students. Kathy loved American history, antiques, theater, and a series of beloved dogs with whom she shared her home.
Kathy was born to E. Keith and Margaret Black on September 1, 1943, in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After graduating from Robbinsdale High School, Robbinsdale MN, she attended St. Cloud State University. She graduated with a teaching degree in June 1966.
While working on costumes at St. Cloud in the theatre department, she met Richard R. Carlson, a student actor, and a fellow teaching major. They married on September 6, 1965. Kathy did substitute teaching at Forest Lake High School; and later taught at Metro North Adult Basic Education. She helped students obtain their GEDs and prepare for their citizenship tests.
In the late 1970s Kathy and Dick bought a small piece of land on Lake Superior. They designed a cabin, and did much of the finishing work themselves with the help of family and friends.
She shared her love of theatre, Lake Superior, history and other interests with the next generations of her extended family.
Kathy was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Richard, her niece Jennifer, and her brother-in-law Terry.
Grateful to have shared her life are her sisters Barbara Black and Nancy Slobodzian, nieces, nephews, godchildren and many very dear friends.
A gathering in memory of Katherine Carlson will be held on May 21st from 4 pm to 7 pm, at Moore Lake Park Community Building, 5890 Central Avenue NE, Fridley MN. A short time of sharing is planned at 5:30 pm.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Charles Fredrikson
May 10, 2025
Some of those who have read my eulogy of Kathy will have noticed that I misspoke, on one important matter. Needless, alas, to say, Jennifer is no longer among the living. What I meant to say is that Kathy spoke to me often about her progressive demise, her death, and then about the aftermath, for Kirk and Keller. The prolonged tragedy is etched into my own memory, and my memories of Kathy, as a loving, deeply empathetic person. -Charles
Charles Fredrikson
May 4, 2025
Robin and Charles very much wanted to participate in Kathy´s memorial event. Robin´s professional obligations won´t allow us to do so. May 21st is also the annual open house at Hope House, in Bemidji, of which she is the one-woman-orchestra director. And I can no longer drive.
The written word will I hope serve as an adequate substitute for our physical presence. We would however have enjoyed meeting those among you whom, over the last nearly 25 years since we began going to the Cabin, Kathy and I talked or wrote about (Jennifer, in particular) and/or Robin and I have read about in the Cabin logbooks.
Unlike most or all of you, we came to know Kathy and Dick through the Cabin. (I always capitalized that word. I think she liked that.) We happened to take that fatal right turn down Edith St. once or twice, in the spring of 2000. One day that summer, we did so again. I took a step back, gazed at the Cabin nestled in the cove, surrounded by cliffs and trees. I turned to Robin and exclaimed: This is it!
I dared knock on the door, asking Paul (as it turned out) whether there were times when the Cabin was unoccupied. If so, could we perhaps take advantage of them, and enjoy the Cove ourselves? To my delight, I was not rebuffed. We later met Kathy and Dick at the Cabin, and were somehow admitted into the inner circle.
My contact with Kathy was fairly limited during that first period. That was to change a few years later. After Dick´s death, I mentioned that if she now needed a maintenance person, I would be happy to help out. She accepted the offer, but began by testing me (I think) and whatever skills I might have by assigning me fairly simple jobs.
That, I was to learn, was typical of Kathy. Practical, smart, thoughtful, and invariably polite and friendly. And so it went for some seventeen years. It was fun, and helped keep that jewel of the North Shore, the Carlson Cove Cabin, intact and looking good.
Our relationship developed with time. I learned about her background, family, marriage, career, illness; and her dogs. She learned about mine (minus the dogs). We spoke or wrote quite often during summers. During the winter season, I´d call her three or four times, and we´d converse at length.
She became a friend, and a dear one. Though afflicted with the illness that finally took her from us, she kept her sense of humor to the end. She showed consistent empathy as, among other things, my mother began to fail, and then died, less than two months ago.
I sent her a copy of the eulogy read at the burial ceremony. She replied: "How beautiful and loving. Thank you for sharing it with me. I am very privileged. I hope you and Robin can unwind and get some rest." Those were her last words to us, dated March 25, 2025. Pure Kathy: kindness and grace.
I am so grateful that I was given the privilege of getting to know Kathy, and enjoying her friendship. I am so sorry to lose her. - Charles Fredrikson
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Carol Fischer
April 14, 2025
My heart is broken. Kathy and Dick were Maid of Honor and Best man in our wedding. Every Labor Day for years we celebrated Kathy's birthday at the cabin exploring waterfalls, playing hour of Pinochle, and building a campfire in the evenings. When we had our girls, they came with us and began to love Carlson's Cove as much as we did. The many experiences, visits, time together that Gary and I spent with Kathy and Dick can not be counted, but will be remembered with much love.
Carol
Carol Fischer
April 14, 2025
My heart is broken. Kathy and Dick were Maid of Honor and Best Man at our wedding. Every Labor Day for years we celebrated Kathy's Birthday at the cabin exploring waterfalls and playing hours of pinochle. When we had our girls they came with us and learned to love Carlson's Cove as much as we did. The many experiences Gary and I had together with the Carlson's over the years can's be counted, only remembered with love.
Carol Fischer
Hanneke Notman
April 14, 2025
My sincere condolences to everyone in the family. I didn't know her personally, but was able to enjoy her cabin, with her sister Barbara Black, on Lake Superior. She obviously was a lovely lady.
Hanneke
Gideon Lattin
April 14, 2025
Kathy would come into my parents store in Beaver Bay all the time, and felt bad for me and my two younger sisters being cooped up all day she would take us down to her cabin on the lake, where she showed us all kinds of things, including One of my now favorite comedy, duos Laurel, and Hardy.
As we got older, we would visit her in the cities sometimes, and she took us to museums and the theater more than once.
She was very much the grandmother I never had and will be greatly missed.
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