Lorraine Lloyd Carlson was born November 16,1922 in Council Bluffs, Iowa to Evan and Gladys Lloyd. Her brother Rolland was born 5 years later, followed by a sister, Phyllis, 5 years after that. Rolland died tragically in a car accident at 18 years old, but she and Phyllis were close siblings in spite of the age difference the rest of their lives.

Lorraine grew up in Iowa during the Depression. As a farm family they moved almost every year, which meant that she attended 8 different grade schools and 4 different high schools. She had fond memories of horses and pet dogs but was not sorry to leave behind the hard existence of life with wood stoves and no indoor plumbing when she was 16 and the family moved to the Gresham, Oregon area.

After a brief time of living in Pasadena, CA during WWII she returned to the Portland area where she met John Carlson on a blind date. They were married April 16,1949 and moved to the SW Portland area where she lived until coming to Richland in 2016. Daughter Judy was born in 1950 followed in 2 year intervals by Maja and Dave. Because of her own experience, all three kids went to only one grade school and one high school. Lori always stressed the importance of education and encouraged all her children and grandchildren to pursue post-secondary studies.

In spite of low vision, which prevented her from driving, Lori knew her way around Portland and the surrounding area better than most drivers. She could be called a stay-at-home mom, but that was only part of her activities. She was a supportive wife to John in his real estate career, including encouraging him to step out as a self-employed appraiser. They were married 43 years until John died of heart failure in 1992.

She agreed to go on family boating and fishing trips even though she disliked being on the water. She was involved in her children's classroom activities, went to all of Dave's Little League games and gymnastics meets, served as a precinct worker, and made friends with all her neighbors. She loved animals and usually had at least one cat or dog (always obedience-trained by her).

Lori loved to garden and enjoyed being part of neighborhood garden clubs. She took many kinds of classes over the years including sewing and interior design. She participated in the Delphian Society to become comfortable with public speaking. In her 70s and 80s she volunteered at Portland Community College helping non-native adults with reading and composition, giving over 100 hours of service. She also volunteered at Hillsdale Community Church in several ways, including using her sewing and decorating skills for holidays and special occasions.

Lori was an avid reader, with interests ranging from history to fiction to contemporary events. She enjoyed crafts, especially needlepoint, many of which she gave to family members. She and John collected original paintings by local and living artists, inspiring an appreciation of art in her children and grandchildren.

She also loved to travel. She accompanied John on many business trips and they traveled to see family during the years when kids and grandkids were in other parts of the country. She especially enjoyed visiting Arizona with Elderhostel and Turkey/Greece in 1996 where she climbed to the top of the Parthenon in Athens at age 74.

Lori decided to move to Richland to be closer to her daughters in 2016 thinking that at age 93 she might not have many years left. She lived in her own house. (No way was she going to live with family or in an "old folks" home!) She made new friends at Meadow Springs Presbyterian Church where her family hosted a 100th birthday party in 2022—the only milestone birthday she agreed to acknowledge. In the 8 years she lived in Richland she survived 2 battles with lymphoma, a broken hip, heart stents, a heart valve replacement, and still lived to be 101 when her heart just wore out. She passed away peacefully June 24, 2024 at home in her sleep as she always wished. The family is grateful to granddaughter Amy for living with her the last 2 years and to the care provided by hospice in her last 2 weeks.

Lori was preceded in death by her husband John, sister Phyllis and brother-in-law Eugene (Andy) Anderson, and niece Diane Brandt. She is survived by daughter Judith (Ted) Davis, daughter Maja (Will) Shaw, both of Richland, WA and son Dave Carlson (Sarah DeGroot) of Portland, OR. Also by grandchildren Jennifer Davis, Amy Davis, Linnea Banta, Jason (Caroline) Shaw; great grandchildren Faith (Jarod) Scott, Kiera Banta, Liam Banta, Rolland Shaw and Lyle Shaw; niece Sherry (Ken) Lauer, nephew Brad Anderson, and numerous other grand and great-grand nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held July 20, 2024, 1pm at Meadow Springs Presbyterian Church in Richland, WA.