Luther Alvin Carlson

Luther Alvin (“Bud”) Carlson was born March 23, 1932, in Stillwater, Minnesota. He lived a full and accomplished life of kindness and leadership in his 92 years. He passed away on November 8, 2024, after a short illness.

Luther grew up on a Depression-era farm outside Scandia, Minnesota, the youngest of ten children. There he learned the values that framed his entire life: the love of family, and the value of hard work. His musical family inspired his lifelong love of music. He began singing in his high school choir and the Men’s Chorus at Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia, and he continued singing at church and home throughout his life. His granddaughter would often tell him, “Grandpa, you have a song for everything.”

After graduating from high school, Luther attended Gustavus Adolphus College for one year and the University of Minnesota for one semester. Even living on ten-cent White Castle hamburgers, continuing college was financially impossible. He left school and began work at Minneapolis Honeywell as a “stock chaser” in the winter of 1952. There his co-workers gave him the nickname “Bud.” It stuck.

As he anticipated, in late 1952 Bud was drafted into the army. Leaving behind his fiancé, Mavis Lindgren, he served two years, mainly in California, until his discharge on December 9, 1954. He rushed home, driving an old car with bald tires through snowstorms to Minnesota, arriving just in time for his wedding to his high school sweetheart, partner, and love of his life, Mavis, on December 17, 1954.

Bud returned to work at Honeywell after his time in the army. These became busy years of hard work and promotions while building a home and growing a family that included four children, Mark, David, Lynne and Steven. His career with Honeywell took him to California in 1969, Massachusetts in 1972, and Washington in 1974. In 1979, he accepted an unexpected job offer from Sundstrand Data Corporation. He contributed his skills as project manager and inventory control specialist at Sundstrand in Redmond, Washington and Rockford, Illinois until his retirement in 1993.

Wherever Bud’s work took him, he made sure he found a Lutheran congregation to join. He was actively involved in church leadership roles in every state he lived in. And he sang in all of those churches too. The Swedish Lutheran faith of his family heritage was always a very important part of his life.

Bud loved devoting time to his family. Vacations were often spent visiting extended family in Minnesota. He loved family outings exploring the beauty and history wherever we lived: California beaches; New England historical sites; Washington mountain hikes. Family work parties cutting firewood or making home improvements for one of the kids were as much fun and entertainment as hard work. Bud began running in the late 1970’s and was an avid participant for ten years. He had over 100 footrace t-shirts attesting to the many races and thousands of miles he ran. After his hip replacement in 1988, he switched to walking, charting 10,000 miles over 15 years before he wore out the replaced hip and had it done again.

After retirement in 1993, Bud took on two interests—traveling and writing—with the same focus that he did everything in his life. He and Mavis traveled extensively across the United States, exploring many national parks and nearly every state, visiting family and collecting stories across the country. They took a dream trip to Sweden, enjoying the countryside, seeing Mavis’s ancestral family homestead and meeting the family. These adventures found their way into the trip journals Bud wrote, eventually filling a three-inch binder of travel stories. In 1996-1997, Bud compiled family stories in his “History of the Carlson Family,” an extensive reference volume for the generations of Carlsons to come. He also collected stories with Mavis about her family, recorded in 2003 in “Descendants of Johannes Lindgren.” Bud shared his own life story in his 626-page autobiography completed in 2004, titled “Seven Decades and More: From the 1930’s into the Twenty-first Century: A Life Story by Luther A. (Bud) Carlson.” The same year, Bud and Mavis wrote and published a family cookbook, “Heirloom Recipes,” commemorating their 50 years of marriage.

Between his travels and writing, Bud enjoyed being outdoors, walking and gardening. He loved to sit on the front porch with Mavis and have a cup of tea, visiting with neighbors as they came by. Most of all, he was devoted to his family. He loved spending holidays together or gathering for picnics. He and Mavis attended every Carlson family reunion with his siblings and their families, and they hosted a few as well. He found special joy in the time he spent with his grandchildren. Grandpa Bud loved attending his grandchildren’s soccer games and concerts, playing with them on the floor, reading books to them in his chair, and snuggling up to watch Veggie Tales.

Bud’s life was an example for all his family, through his guidance, his singing, and his writings. Bud and Mavis’s 68-year marriage served as a testament to partnership and enduring love. The songs he sang are reminders of him, written in the hearts of his children and replayed again and again. His legacy is a great family treasure.

Luther was preceded in death by Mavis, his wife of 68 years, and by all nine of his siblings. He is survived by his children: Mark (Diane), David (Rosalie), Lynne Charlot, and Steven (Robin); nine grandchildren; and ten great-grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to International Rett Syndrome Foundation or Lutheran Indian Ministries.