Fred A. Carlson, Jr. ’51 died on May 2, 2020 in Kingsport, Tennessee.     

(The following was posted by Carter-Trent Funeral Home on May 2, 2020)

Fred Alphonse Carlson, Jr. died peacefully at Holston Valley Hospital in Kingsport, Tennessee, at the age of 91 on May 2, 2020. He was predeceased by his loving wife, Shirley Ratcliff, two months earlier, and by his first wife, Winifred Olson, in 1987.

Born June 12, 1928, in Norwood, Massachusetts, he was the son of Fred Carlson, Sr. and Astrid Peterson, where he grew up with his three siblings, Betty, Neil, and David. He graduated from Bowdoin College, married Winifred in 1951, and was a loving father to their two daughters. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and worked at Holliston Mills in Massachusetts, where he started as a truck driver. He worked his way up to plant manager moving to Kingsport, Tennessee, with the company and he worked there until his retirement.

Fred was a kind-hearted and generous man. He lived life to the fullest and had a great sense of humor. His passion was golf and he played until his 90’s. He also loved boating and spent ten wonderful years with his wife, Shirley, living on their boat during the winters. They then retired to Florida, where Shirley gifted him his much loved dog, Rocky.

He is survived by his daughters, Cindy and Donna (Laval), five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren from the Carlson side of the family; and three children, Paula (Keith), Louise (Todd), and Darby (Teresa); five grandchildren, and thirteen great-grandchildren from the Ratcliff side of the family; and his brother, Neil (Marilyn).