Reuben Laurence Carlson

Reuben Laurence Carlson was born on March 26, 1929. He was the third child of Walter and Velugu Carlson of Amery. He grew up in nearby Turtle Lake and graduated from Amery High School in 1947. After a year of working on a farm, he enrolled at the Dunwoody Technical Institute in Minneapolis to learn a trade as an electrician. Besides a career as an electrician, Reub also had plans to be a gunsmith, as his knowledge of this specialty was quite considerable, and he proved to be a skilled hunter as well as an expert marksman. The war in Korea changed all of that. He was drafted into the Army and served his country from 1950-51. During his enlistment, PFC Carlson used his electrical knowledge as a lineman in the Army Signal Corps near the front lines in what is now North Korea. He was honored to attend the Never Forgotten Honor Flight in 2015. After he was discharged from the Army, he made use of his G.I. Bill education benefits to enroll in Luther College in Iowa, where he studied history and philosophy. He then transferred to Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, where he met his future wife, Karen M. Jacobson. They were married shortly after on March 30, 1958. Reuben later decided to go into the ministry; he then attended Rock Island Seminary while Kay finished her education at Gustavus. After they both graduated, Reub served as an intern minister in Springfield, Massachusetts, and was subsequently assigned to his first parish at Grace Lutheran Church in Pembine, Wisconsin. After three years in northern Wisconsin, Reub moved his growing family of five to Michigan, where he served as pastor for the First Lutheran Church in Gladstone. Reuben and Kay added two more children to the family, and Reuben made another career change. He took a position as chaplain for the next 10 years in both the Homme Home for Boys and Homme Home for the Aging in Wittenberg. He enjoyed his work as a chaplain, as well as social work for Lutheran Social Services in Wittenberg, so his next calling was to be a chaplain in the Veterans Administration Hospital. He served in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He retired from government service in the VA in 1996 but remained active in the ministry as a substitute chaplain. Still a Wisconsinite at heart, he and Kay moved back to Wittenberg in 2002, where they purchased a five-acre farm, where Reuben continued to work on his other favorite pastimes: gunsmithing, hunting, being near family and riding horses with Kay. After serving as a substitute pastor in local parishes and several more moves around the local area, Reuben retired from the ministry for health reasons. He and Kay moved into the Homme Home Rainbow Assisted Living Apartments, and he was later transferred to hospice care at the Homme Home. He remained there until his death on July 30, 2024. Reub enjoyed visiting and telling stories with other veterans, and he was also ministering to everyone. Reverend Reuben Carlson is survived by his family, including his wife, Kay, of 66 years; and five children, Mark, David, Joel, Tom and Anne. He was blessed with nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. A family burial service with military rites will be held at a later date in Minnesota. Schmidt & Schulta Funeral Home, Wittenberg, is assisting the family with funeral arrangements. Memories and messages of support may be shared at schmidtschulta.com.