Marvin Arnold Carlson

“Marv “is survived by his wife Joann; three children Michael (Amy), Lori (Casey), Jeff (Ellen) and five grandchildren- Keegan, Evan, Grace, Garrett and Isaac, all of Colorado; a brother David (Linda), nieces and nephews John and (Debi ) (both predeceased), Carolyn (Jon), Mark (Kristina), Kathryn (Cory) and children of the nieces and nephews: Nathan, Erik, Brooke, Ben, Rayna and Ryker, all of Wisconsin.

Marv was a graduate of Eau Claire High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with double majors in Math and Physics at Wisconsin State College. While in college he worked part-time at White Machine Co- the same place where his Dad was employed. His first job after college was with Social Security in Chicago. He and some friends had an apartment very near the elevated train system, known as the ‘L’. In 1965, while working at an observatory in Tucson, AZ, he met Joann Shields, an elementary school teacher from northern KY. They were married in 1966. Marv’s Mom never asked Marv any questions about Joann except about her nationality. She and Marv’s Dad were Swedes through and through. Joann messed that up with mixing in some Scotch, Irish, Dutch and maybe some English. Marv was an avid reader. He particularly liked the sciences, aviation, sports, and world events. His favorites were the Civil War and World War II. He had volumes of books about those wars. Sometimes this love of reading got him into trouble with his school work. He would read other subjects rather than working on the present assignments. It was almost torture to go to a museum with Marv. He couldn’t just read a tidbit of information or look at the pictures of an exhibit- he had to read all the details. He absolutely loved flying and secured his private plane license, though he never owned his own plane. But, his brother owned a plane and he and Marv had some great times in the skies of Wisconsin. The U.S. government was Marv’s employer most of his career. As a geophysicist he monitored earthquakes all over the world. He really enjoyed his job. One day in sunny Tucson of 1969, when he came home from work, he asked Joann this question: how would she like to move to Adak, Alaska? (They had two small children by then- Mike 18 mos and Lori just 3 mos old… and a large German Shepherd dog to consider.) She ,in turn, asked him, “Where in the world is that?” It is hard to find on the globe. At that time it was a naval base- a tiny place about 25x35 miles wide; out in the wild Bering Sea, known as “Birthplace of the Wind” where the rain doesn’t come straight down but horizontally. There weren’t many sunshiny days either but when that did happen there was green beauty all over the hills- camera time. We were on that interesting island three years. Marv loved it there. Joann … not so much! They felt several earthquakes while there. One was strong enough to produce a tsunami (giant sea waves that can be the result of an earthquake). Islanders living close to the Bering Sea had to move further inland, just in case AND, by the time they left there they had added a third child, Jeff, to their family. They called him their little Eskimo. Other working assignments were in Tucson, AZ; Point Barrow, Alaska; Corbin, VA; Baker, OR. And Puerto Rico. Marv and family were moved to Golden, CO in July of 1975. He remained in Golden at NEIS until his retirement. Besides the job in Golden, Marv was instrumental in organizing a softball team with some of the men from Golden Nazarene Church and co workers from his office. Their son Mike also played on the team. It was a fun time and great memories forged for them. Joann always admired Marv’s work ethic, his faithfulness and devotion to her and the family. What lessons he taught us.