Thomas William Carlson

Thomas “Tom” William Carlson, 86, of Shoreview, passed away peacefully at home on October 4, 2023. Tom was born on August 25, 1937 in Ishpeming, Michigan son of the late William and Anna Maria Laurenza (Hare) Carlson. He attended Michigan Technical University and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Tom was married for 59 years to the late, Barbara “Barb” Rose (Lemieux) Carlson.

Tom had a varied career, beginning at AC Sparkplug as an engineer in Milwaukee, WI (Jun 1959 - Sep 1961) then moving to Honeywell Corporation as a corporate recruiter in Minneapolis (Sep 1961 - Sep 1969). Given Tom’s unique ability to explain complex technical concepts to corporate executives, he transitioned from recruiting technical experts to technical product sales first with Cozzens and Cudahy (Sep 1969 - Sep 1971) and then Bernie Smith Associates (Sep 1971 - Sep 1972) both located in the Minneapolis metro area. In Sep 1972, Tom founded his own successful business, TWC Sales, which he operated from 1972 until his retirement in 2004 in New Brighton. 

Tom was a member of St John the Baptist and Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic parishes in the Twin Cities. Tom was enthusiastic fan of college and professional sporting teams, games of chance and golf. Friends and family will remember Tom’s love of a “good conversation”, his thoughtful nature and optimism. 

Tom is survived by three amazing children John and Patty Carlson of Minnetonka, MaryAnn (Carlson) and Kris Hawley of Blaine and Patrick and Patricia (Powers) Carlson of Madison, WI. He treasured his three grandchildren Kathryn Hawley of Saint Paul, Daniel Hawley of Saint Paul and Timothy Carlson of Ely. 

Visitation will be at Saint John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church in New Brighton on Tuesday, October 10, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, followed by a mass of Christian Burial at 11:00 AM and a luncheon will be served at the church beginning at 12:00 PM for friends and family.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials in Tom’s honor be made to Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Minneapolis or Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church  in New Brighton. Our Lady of Lourdes at https://lourdesmpls.org/text-to-give or at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, One Lourdes Place, Minneapolis, MN 55414  Saint John the Baptist at https://stjohnnb.com/donate/ or at Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church 835 2nd Ave NW New Brighton, MN 55112