John Stanley Carlson

Our father John Stanley Carlson was quite an adventurer with many talents and hobbies and a long list of academic accolades! Born December 5th, 1927 in Oakland, CA to Louise J. Thorson Carlson and Anders Johan Carlson. Stan had 2 siblings who both predeceased him, an older brother Anders Johnston Carlson and a younger sister Dr. Mary Lou Hanes. Stanley leaves behind 6 living children Joel, Derek, Cami, Andrea, Wildflower and Coyote and his eldest son Keith who predeceased him, 9 Grandchildren, Jesse predeceasing and very recently James, 3 Great Grandchildren and numerous loving nieces, nephews, and grands! Our father loved children and sharing his wealth of knowledge with all the little impressionable minds was pure joy for him. He had a very sweet way with children, our home was always the driveway where all the neighborhood kids gathered. Dad was fun loving who played the most endearing games with his children from the beginning right up until his dying days while we held his hands, he played Daddy spider games. Stan was a private in the United States Army during World War II having been drafted at the age of 18 serving in Kentucky and driving an ambulance in New Mexico at the White Sands proving grounds. Stanley, which is the name he went by; Dad was his favorite, but "Butterfly Doctor" was a passionate fitting name! A true academician as a lifelong student of the many subjects he found intriguing! At a very young age he started collecting "bugs," his collection grew over his lifetime. Sharing this phenomenal butterfly collection, he held classes and taught at hundreds of events just for fun. Those fortunate enough to see this collection would call it an Entomologists dream come true! Our best estimate is upwards of 10,000 museum mounted and classified "bugs" butterflies, spiders, and scorpions from hundreds of different classifications. He was an avid hunter with a sharp aim, fishermen, gun, and bullet enthusiast, as well a stamp and coin collector, scuba diver, lifeguard, high school teacher, Professor and Dentist. He was an incredible gardener with the gift of a green thumb. He spent most of his spare time tending to his garden, cross breeding different varieties of berries, with a full vegetable garden, growing a 3-foot-long squash on the acreage in Arizona and the most beautiful tulips and Gladiolas for his mother's pleasure. His interests were vast and unique spanning his lifetime. Stanley earned his Bachelor of Arts in Zoology in 1952, from the Department of Education a Master of Arts in 1956 from San Francisco State College, followed by a Doctor of Philosophy in Zoology "Limnology" (the study of inland bodies of water) from UC Davis in 1968. After a short career at the University of Arizona teaching Zoology Stan decided to return to school at the age of 45 to become a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1976. Dad made dentistry fun for all who dared to sit in his chair! He practiced dentistry in Berkeley, CA for 15 years becoming the Dentist everyone wanted to see. The youngsters got their custom set of vampire teeth, or a gold butterfly inlay, to serving those less fortunate on the streets of Berkeley, including the Seniors who were in the final stages of life. Dr. Carlson to the rescue, he took his practice mobile in the early 80's and if need be he would curl up next to his patients in their hospital beds to get a perfect fit on a denture. He made sure their needs were met otherwise he knew these seniors might have been left to suffer in all kinds of dental pain. His heart was huge and his willingness to have fun and please his patients made this career a perfect fit for Stan! After retiring his practice in Berkeley, he relocated his new young family to Grenada and eventually settling in Montague California. He quickly came out of retirement to practice dentistry and serve the Karuk Tribe in Yreka for 10 plus years, practicing well into his 70's. Stan has enjoyed many lifelong friendships with bountiful, adventurous, and often death-defying trips with those friends and with his children from snow skiing in and around Lake Tahoe, scuba diving off the tip of the San Francisco Bay for abalone, canoeing the Sacramento, camping, endless hunting and fishing trips in the back country of the Oakland hills and all over the Sierra Nevada's. His children were lucky to be exposed to the vastness of his interests and hobbies. We not only had adventure we owned unique household pets, Red Tail Hawks, Gila Monsters, snakes, pet crows, dogs, cats, parrots, lizards, the list goes on. To say his life was full or adventurous would be an understatement. He packed so much exploration, education, and fun memories into his 94 years, he lived several lifetimes compared to most. We will be telling his stories for years and years to come. To our Father, Uncle, Friend, mentor, fellow student, co-worker, we love you and we will miss all your jaw dropping stories, you were captivating, loving generous and kind to so many. We will never forget "Ya know what? Your Daddy loves you!" We love you too Dad! A Big heartfelt thank you to Rico and Elisa Gutierrez for hosting this Celebration of Life for our Father! Sadly, his family in Arizona due to vast health issues will not be in attendance. A memorial in Stan's honor will be held at Upper Greenhorn Park Saturday June 10th at 1:00 PM. We will be having a potluck barbeque if you would like to join us, please let us know by emailingus at bar_king@cot.net or texting us at (530) 340-0656.

John Stanley Carlson

December 5, 1927 - December 22, 2021