Lois Carlson was a loving wife, mother of two, grandmother of four, and for over 30 years, she worked at Ebasco Sevices in NYC as the Executive Receptionist-Secretary.
Ode on Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood
The innocent brightness of a new-born Day
Is lovely yet;
The Clouds that gather round the setting sun
Do take a sober colouring from an eye
That hath kept watch o'er man's mortality;
Another race hath been, and other palms are won.
Thanks to the human heart by which we live,
Thanks to its tenderness, its joys, and fears,
To me the meanest flower that blows can give
Thoughts that do often lie too deep for tears.
- William Wordsworth
Lois and her twin sister Joan were born on January 20, 1932 in Brooklyn, New York. She had two older sisters: Millie and Virginia.
Lois grew up in Queens, New York where she attended Catholic school. Her mother was a homemaker and her father a NYC police officer who devotedly cared for his family and his beautiful English garden.
While working at Globe Insurance in NYC, Lois met her husband, Harold Carlson whose parents immigrated from Norway and Sweden.
She married at age 22, moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn and soon after had two children: Pamela and four years later, Thomas. Life in Brooklyn was wonderfully social and teeming with activity. In the summers throughout the day and night, there were endless street games for the many, many active children of all ages. On special days someone’s dad or a teenager would turn on the fire hydrant and we would be blasted with cooling water till the police came and good naturedly shut it down. In the summer evenings, the adults would sit outside and visit each other while the children played hide and seek in the street.
We enjoyed living in a lovely old brownstone with a backyard. Lois loved caring for her house and cooking delicious dinners. She danced and sang, especially to Frank Sinatra and Doris Day songs. In 1942, when she was 10, she saw Frank live at the Paramount Theatre and lost he loafer during the “riots.” Baseball was big in Lois’s life since her cousin Digi pitched one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers. She had an abundance of close friends and adored babies. She would stop complete strangers to talk to their baby. Into her elder years, Lois remained close to her twin sister Joan. For years they spoke together each night while eating ice cream sundaes.
Lois influenced all of us with her common sense and very clear sense of fairness and justice which was echoed by her husband. She was not interested in politics, but was naturally ahead of her time in her thinking and took positions that were unpopular. She simply and firmly spoke her mind.
For over 30 years, Lois worked full-time at Ebasco Sevices in NYC as the Executive Receptionist-Secretary. Ebasco was a major U.S. Design, Engineering and Construction company working on energy infrastructure projects such as nuclear, fossil fuel and hydro-electric power plants – both international and domestic. Ebasco was one of the first tenants at Two World Trade Center with over 2,000 employees. Lois experienced the first bombing at the trade center in 1993 while working on the 93rd floor. Soon after, she retired at her home on Staten Island and enjoyed an active life.
From the beginning and throughout their lives, Lois was very involved with her grandchildren: Lia & Monique and Rami & Sharif. Grandma was a good cook and all holiday feasts were at Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house. Later, her grandchildren were very active in caring for her.
After two hip surgeries, Lois came to the Fellowship in January of 2020 and truly appreciated not only the tasty food, but was impressed by the thoughtfulness of the warm-hearted and patient individuals who cared for her.
Her son Thomas was with her when she passed on Thursday morning, June 3rd. Lois will join her husband at Calverton National Cemetery on Long Island.
To make a gift to the Fellowship Community in honor of Lois please visit fellowshipcommunity.org/donate