Thomas Robert Carlson

Thomas R. Carlson, 79, of Hollywood, Florida, passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours on August 8, 2024, after a lengthy and hard fought battle with cancer. Tom was born on July 14th, 1945, in Miami, Florida, to Haskel and Josephine Carlson. Soon after he was born, he and his mother and father relocated back to Newbury, Vermont, where his father grew up, in order to farm the Carlson family land. As the years passed, Tom helped his family on the farm, he earned excellent grades in school, and he played baseball and basketball on the school teams, as well as with his brothers and sister - when they weren't doing farm chores.

After graduation from high school in 1963, Tom attended the University of Vermont, where he studied to become a teacher. While at UVM, Tom met many people in classes he was attending as well as at Patrick Gym (where he played pick up basketball as often as he could), some who became lifelong friends - but the most important lifelong friend he met was the love of his life, Susan Bowers, and very soon after graduation in 1967, they were engaged, and they married the night before Christmas Eve that year.

Tom was a teacher for 35 years, and he spent the majority of his career teaching physical education at Hinesburg Elementary, having retired in 2001. In addition to teaching PE, he had a love of sports, and he coached 7th and 8th grade girls and boys basketball and 7th and 8th grade baseball and softball for most of the time that he was teaching at Hinesburg. Of importance, Tom's first teaching job was as a social studies teacher at Rochester high school in Rochester, Vermont. While at Rochester, he was the boy's varsity basketball coach, and Tom led his team to Division IV boys' basketball finals at Patrick Gym in both 1968 and 1969 - with a championship in 1968. Not bad for a 23 year old kid just out of college!

Tom is survived by his wife of 57 years, Susan; his son, Tom, 54; his daughter- in- law, Amy, 51; his three grandchildren, Asa, 23, Maia, 21, and Stella, 13. He is also survived by his younger siblings, Richard Carlson, Douglas Carlson, and Mary Ellen Miller.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Vermont (to be announced). In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the American Cancer Society.