NORMAN A. CARLSON , 94, of Hingham, formerly of Norwell, died at his Linden Ponds home on Friday, Nov. 12th, 2010. Mr. Carlson was born into a Chicago area Swedish immigrant community. The first generation born in the US on his mother’s side.
He enlisted in the Naval Air Corps in May 1941 and served until Sept. 1946, leaving service as a Lieutenant Commander. He saw active duty in the Pacific Theater as commanding pilot aboard a Torpedo Bomber, and also served as flight instructor at the naval air stations of Corpus Christi, TX and Glenview, IL. As a ranking airman on VJ Day, Mr. Carlson flew security formation over the USS Missouri during the signing of the Surrender on its decks.
A midwesterner, he moved to Cohasset to open the New England territory of a national money order company, traveling across the six states to enlist small businesses as agents to issue his company's money orders. It was difficult to name a small town in New England that he had not visited. At this time he also became active in the South Shore Baptist Church in Hingham and was an integral part of that congregation for many years.
He was a skilled woodworker and upon retirement was able to devote himself more fully to his favorite hobby. Moving into Linden Ponds in 2005, he contributed several tools to the woodworking shop including his beloved lathe, which he put to good use for turning decorative wooden bowls for which he became well-known.
He was married for 51 years to Mary Louise (Paris) Carlson until her passing in 1993. He was the father of Virginia J. Wieland of Cohasset and Timothy L. Carlson and Mark E. Carlson both of Paris, France. Grandfather of Elizabeth Ann Gravelle of Steamboat Springs, CO, Piers Alfred Ludlam Carlson of Shanghai, China, John Patrick Donne Carlson of Paris, France and Gilbert Glad Paris Carlson of New York, NY.
A Memorial Service will be conducted on Friday, Nov. 19th at 3:30 PM in the reception room of the Derby Clubhouse of Linden Ponds Retirement Community, 300 Linden Ponds Way, Hingham.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to Wheaton College for The Mary Louise Paris Carlson Scholarship, 501 College Ave., Wheaton, IL 60187.