Dorothy J. Carlson

Dorothy J. Carlson, 94, of Palm Springs CA, formerly of Cannon Falls and Minneapolis, died on Friday morning, October 21, 2022 at Cherry’s Infinite Care in Cathedral City, CA.  Dorothy was born July 15, 1928 in Iron Mountain, MI the younger of two daughters born to Ole and Ida (Lockrem) Flannes.  They soon returned to the Minneapolis area, but during WWII they also lived in California and Washington state.

On September 24^th, 1948 Dorothy was united in marriage to Phil Carlson at Nokomis Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.  In 1962 they purchased a farm on High Prairie near Stanton where they settled raising their two children and extensively remodeling the house.  Phil was an expert carpenter while Dorothy could paint, wallpaper, stain, varnish, upholster, sew, drive tractor doing field work and other farm work (there wasn’t much she couldn’t do) in addition to being a great wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend.  Dorothy was also an excellent secretary holding full and part time positions over the years.   

 From 1974 to 1984 she owned and operated the Piccadilly Boutique women’s clothing store in Cannon Falls which she really enjoyed doing with her beloved employees who became good friends.  After Phil’s death in 1983, Dorothy moved back to Minneapolis.  She enjoyed many years of the snowbird lifestyle between Minnesota and Arizona until moving to Palm Springs full time in 2015. Dorothy enjoyed many pleasure trips with her sister, Marian, especially the Alaskan Cruise they took with their daughters.  Dorothy also enjoyed spending time with Glenn and they attended many senior dances together. 

Dorothy was preceded in death by her husband, parents, sister and brother-in-law, Marian (d. 2016) and Arnold Tangen and special companion, Glenn Upton (d. 2021).  She is survived by her son Ron of Palm Springs CA and daughter Kathy of Peoria AZ.   Also surviving Dorothy are her nephew Larry (Carol) Tangen, nieces Linda (Don) Hiney and Marilyn (Todd) Davis all of Chula Vista, CA and Dee Hill of Melrose, MN and their families.  Ron and Kathy would like to thank Cherry’s Infinite Care, Bridge Hospice and Carino’s Quality Home Care for the tender loving care they gave Mom. 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 26^th, at  2:00 pm with visitation one hour prior at Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church 34289 County 24 Blvd, Cannon Falls.  Interment Wangen Prairie Lutheran Church cemetery.