Carrie Carlson

Born May 12, 1955 in Lafayette, IN - passed away at her home in Kalamazoo on March 19. She was 61. Carrie was educated in Kalamazoo schools, graduating from Loy Norrix in 1973. She attended Western Michigan University and completed her education at Parsons Business School. She worked as a secretary for the Greater Kalamazoo United Way and the Upjohn Corporation. In 1990 Carrie moved to Grand Rapids, taking a Marketing Assistant position with Action Wholesale. She married Peter Rasmussen in 1991, and left the workforce in 1992 when her son Lars was born. In 1999, she and her family moved to the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and returned to Kalamazoo in 2004. In 2012, she and Peter were divorced, and Carrie moved to Richland, returning to Kalamazoo in 2015. In recent years she worked at the Tunier Bros. greenhouse, the Parkview Hills clubhouse, and at Meijer. Growing up, Carrie summered at her parent's cabin on Lake Michigan in Manistee. With her husband and son, she often camped in Michigan's upper peninsula. She and her father hiked in Nepal's Himalaya Mountains, and rafted on the Colorado River. Carrie also enjoyed visits to Tokyo and New York City. Small creatures had a great friend in Carrie. She dutifully tended bird feeders strategically set to provide entertainment for her house cats. Possibly her best friend ever was her Golden Retriever Teddy, her companion from 1999-2012. Carrie had a gift for plants, often having a dozen or more in her home. She was sought after for planting flower boxes and landscaping advice and was a talented interior designer. In February 2017, Carrie was taken to Bronson Hospital, where she learned she had untreatable cancer and heart failure. Temporarily restored to health, she and her former husband took a brief "bucket list tour" of the southern US. She returned home and a few days later passed in her sleep. Carrie is survived by her son Lars Rasmussen and her sister and brother-in-law Maggi and Roger Weinberg. Friends and co-workers are invited to join her family at a memorial celebrating her life at the Parkview Hills Clubhouse, 3707 Greenleaf Circle, Saturday April 22, at 11 AM. Instead of flowers, please consider a donation to Hospice of West Michigan.