Susan A Carlson

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Susan “Sue” Alyce Carlson, age 88, on December 31, 2024 at her home in Albuquerque, NM, with family by her side. She was born August 30, 1936 in Lewiston, ID to Walter and Evelyn Melrose. Raised in Spokane, WA, she graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in 1954. She attended Washington State University and joined the Chi Omega sorority. Later she transferred to Gonzaga University, before the blue skies called her. Sue joined Frontier Airlines as a flight attendant, flying on DC-3’s out of Denver throughout the Rockies.

We find hope and comfort knowing she is reunited with the love of her life, Joel Carlson. They married on October 2, 1959 in Everett, WA and were married for 55 years before Joel died in 2014. Faith was the basis from which they set an example through their lives: joining a church community wherever they lived, volunteering, singing in the choir, participating in Marriage Encounter, and ‘living life’ with their small groups, resulting in cherished life-long friendships.

Sue was a friendly, service-oriented person, as her roles over the years demonstrated. In Cheyenne, WY and Fairfax, VA she delivered Meals on Wheels. In Acton, MA, she volunteered driving seniors to appointments in a 12-passenger van called The Roadrunner. She also worked in the pre-school at Christ Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, NV.

She was admired for her fun, gracious and gentle presence, brightening every room with her smile and sense-of-humor. She enjoyed engaging with people from throughout the world in her sales roles at The Sandia Peak Tram gift shop in Albuquerque and Churchill Downs Museum gift shop in Louisville, KY. There was rarely a person Mom couldn’t connect with and turn into an instant friend!

One of her most fulfilling and challenging roles was in supporting her husband Joel and raising 4 kids Dianna, Dan, Karwynn, and Mary. Joel’s FBI career, which spanned from 1967 to 1988, took their growing family from their Everett, WA roots through Phoenix, AZ, Denver, CO, Cheyenne, WY, Washington DC, Boston, MA, Albuquerque, NM and finally Louisville, KY. After retiring from the FBI, they moved back to the Southwest with Joel’s career, first to Las Vegas, NV then later returning to Albuquerque, NM. They ultimately retired to Tucson, AZ and enjoyed the “snowbird” life, splitting their time between homes in AZ and Camano Island, WA for over 20 years.

Surprisingly, Sue found time to pursue interests of her own and played Mahjong for many years. She was a member of PEO, which is a women’s philanthropic organization, for over 55 years. She was also part of the Sonoran Searchers chapter of Questers from 2007 to 2015, which is an international organization interested in researching the history of and preserving collectibles. No matter where they lived, Sue fueled her passion for shopping estate sales, collecting and acquiring antiques. During retirement, Sue and Joel spent significant time antiquing and reselling them in her “Hello Again Antiques and Collectibles” shop.

Sue is survived by brother Peter Melrose of Lake Oswego, OR, her children Dianna (Paul) Kestler of Irving, TX, Dan (Jocelyn) Carlson of Lakewood, CA, Karwynn (Karl) Albillar of Aurora, IL, and Mary (Todd) Walker of Albuquerque, NM, and her 7 grandchildren: Zachary (Stephanie), Alex, Sam, Rachel, Nick, Ashley and Naomi.

Celebration of Life Services will be held on April 26th at 1:00pm mountain standard time at Faith Lutheran Church, Albuquerque. To view the service online, go to the following link: https://faithabq.org/ She will be interred at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Everett, WA with Joel this summer. Memories or condolences may be shared with the Carlson Family at Neptune.

Memorial donations may be made to either:

The Endowment Fund at Faith Lutheran Church

10000 Spain Road NE

Albuquerque, NM 87111

or

P.E.O. international philanthropy Cottey College scholarship fund

P.E.O. International

3700 Grand Ave

Des Moines, IA 50312-2899