John William Carlson, the son of Floyd O. and Berniece L. Carlson was born November 17, 1932 during a snow storm. The Doctor got stuck, so Grandpa Anton had to go after him with a horse and sleigh to deliver John at their home south of Stanton in Page County, Iowa. John passed away suddenly at his home in Stanton on Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at the age of 85 years, 4 months and 23 days.

John attended several country schools, Dirrum, Cramer Chapel and North Page, and graduated from 8th grade. He attended Stanton High School all 4 years and graduated in 1951. John was united in marriage to his school sweetheart, Doris L. Rains on February 17, 1951 in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and they made their home in Stanton. They raised their girls: Joyce, Janie and Jennifer where they presently live on Frankfort Street. Following graduation, John worked for Montgomery County as an assistant surveyor, Stanton CO-OP and for Bill Thompson at Standard Oil station, before going to work for the town of Stanton for 4 years. He was a feed sales representative for Johnson Bros Mills in Shenandoah before an 18-year career with Cargill, Inc. as a territory manger of 18 counties in their feed division. When his father became ill, John started farming, raising lots of hogs, cattle and row crop. In his retirement years, John worked for Mamrelund Lutheran Church as caretaker and Halland Village as a maintenance man until 2006, when he retired completely. John enjoyed woodworking as a hobby. He also enjoyed filling in for pastors and public speaking. John was a state public speaking champion for Iowa Farm Bureau and liked speaking at banquets and school functions. John and Doris loved travelling the United States, visiting all but Alaska. John was a member of Mamrelund Lutheran Church, serving 3 terms on the church council. He served 10 years as a Boy Scout master and was Mayor of Stanton for a term. John was involved with the Stanton Volunteer Fire Department, Double Dozen club, Lions club and was the town baseball team manager.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Berniece Carlson; daughter, Joyce Merrick; grandparents, Anton & Ellen Carlson and Ernest & Lydia Carlson; brothers-in-law, Larry Shannon and Jimmie Rains; and sister-in-law Marjorie Thiles.

John is survived by his wife of 67 years, Doris Carlson of Stanton, IA; daughters: Janie (Les) Voss of Villisca, IA and Jennifer (Craig) Heuer of Villisca, IA; 7 grandchildren: Joshua (Kim) Merrick of Omaha, NE, Somer (Matt) Plucker of Henderson, NV, Brett Merrick of Omaha, NE, Brandie (Zeb) McFarland of Stanton, IA, Karmin (James) Hasse of LaGrande, OR, John-James (Shannon) Heuer of Villisca, IA, and Levi Heuer (Elizabeth Moore)   of Shenandoah, IA; 8 great-grandchildren: Cassidy Merrick, Mason and Quentin Plucker, Sylas Heuer, Braden Dickenson, Brynnlee Hasse, Sophia Heuer and Victoria McFarland; great-great-grandson, Liam; 3 step-grandchildren: Jennifer Ballard, Jamie McMullen and Jarod Voss; 5 step-great-grandchildren;  sisters-in-law: Dorothy (Clayton) Johnson of Red Oak, IA and Teresa Shannon of Glenwood, IA; and brother-in-law, Robert Thiles of Omaha, NE; nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.

May God bless his memory and give strength to those who mourn.

Funeral Service will be held

Friday, April 13, 2018 at 10:30 a.m.

At Mamrelund Lutheran Church, Stanton, IA

Burial in Mamre Cemetery, Stanton, IA

Rev. Dr. Eric Kutzli, Officiating

Visitation with the family present at Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home on Thursday evening from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Memorials to the John Carlson Memorial Fund for future designation.

Sellergren-Lindell-DeMarce Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.