MARGARET CARLSON

Margaret Ann (Rasmussen) “Marge” Carlson, passed away on September 25, 2024 under hospice care at Fairway Pines senior living center in Sauk Centre, MN. She was 87 years old.

She was born on the family farm along the Government Road in Rock Creek Township, between Pine City and Rock Creek, MN, on July 30, 1937. She was the youngest child of Danish immigrants Jorgen and Marie (Mikkelson) Rasmussen. She attended the nearby one-room school through eighth grade, then attended Pine City High School and graduated in 1955.

Immediately after graduating, Marge briefly worked as a clerk at the local farmer’s CO-OP. Then, on the recommendation of a high school friend, she went to work as a Switchboard Operator for Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in Pine City for eight years. It was there she met her future husband, Ronald “Zig” Carlson. They were married on November 18, 1961, and lived in Pine City until Ron was transferred to Cambridge, MN in 1965. Two years later, Ron was transferred one final time, to Sauk Centre, MN, where they raised three children and remained for the rest of their lives.  

In 1976, Marge returned to work as an operator for Northwestern Bell in Sauk Centre. Three years later, when technology made operators unnecessary, she transferred to work within the company in St. Cloud, MN as a service dispatcher, making the 49-mile commute each way from home four days a week. She and Ron both retired from what became U.S. West in 1993, allowing them to travel throughout the country in their motorhome and winter in Apache Junction, AZ. Both were active in the Telephone Pioneers of America, volunteering for charitable work (Marge combining it with one of her favorite hobbies, sewing), and participating in the Family Campers group. Marge was also part of the Quilting Ministry and Ladies Circle at First Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre.

After Ron passed away in 2014, Marge sold the “country” home north of Sauk Centre and moved into a modest home in town, while continuing to spend winters in Arizona until 2022. When health issues made living at home more difficult last year, she moved into a large apartment in Fairway Pines, where she remained until passing away.

Marge had a great, if subtle, sense of humor. She was proud of her all-Danish heritage, a skilled cribbage player, always willing to lend a hand, and very fond of chocolate. She will be greatly missed by family and friends alike.

Marge is preceded in death by her husband; parents; sisters Lillian (Walfred) Dahlstrom and Sylvia (Clark) Raudabaugh; and brothers Theodore “Ted” (Anna and Marlys) Rasmussen and Robert “Bob” Rasmussen.

She is survived by daughter Cindy Ann Carlsson (William “Lane” Phillips) and sons Brian Mitchell Carlson and Scott Jay Carlson.

A Funeral services will be held at 11:00 am on Saturday, October 12, 2024 at the First Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre.

Visitation will begin at 10:00 am, 1 hour prior to the service at church.

A luncheon will follow.

A private family inurnment will be in the Kandota Township Cemetery near Sauk Centre.

If you wish to offer a memorial, in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to your favorite charity or to the Quilting Ministry at First Lutheran Church in Sauk Centre.

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