Lois Carlson

CAPE ELIZABETH – Lois Carlson was born in Portland, Maine, May 5, 1932, and died in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, on Feb. 11, 2020. In between, she lived in many places throughout the northeast but was always a true Mainer at heart. Lois, known for her very pragmatic approach to life and her unwavering “honesty”, will certainly leave many memories behind for those who knew her over the years.

She was not one to sit still, always on the move, working late in her life whether her career as a capital fund raiser or volunteering for many organizations. She finally retired from everything in her mid 70s. She was always a woman on a mission, whether work, playing golf or tennis, riding a bike, working in her gardens, traveling or volunteering at Sunday River for handicapped skiing. She got things done and she did it her way, something all of us who knew her admired but at times could also be driven crazy by. Being the slightly opinionated woman she was, she rarely held back on any comments on the subject at hand, her “honesty” quality. As a son, my mother and father let me find my way, letting me discover life’s ups and downs, always being there when they felt it was needed, providing some words of wisdom or a suggestion if they felt it was appropriate.

In my mom’s last few years, she lived in Connecticut near me where we could be there for her as she struggled with increasing dementia. Even with her dramatic changes in life, my mom never lost her sense of humor. People who often overheard our conversations must have truly wondered about us, our honesty with each other, it was there right until the end. She always remarked to me on “how a woman could be so smart could become so stupid,” I always told her it wasn’t her, it was the awful disease she was afflicted with, she struggled mightily knowing that. Not until the last few months, was she at peace, when she no longer really had any comprehension of her life, she was going through the motions. With each night I visited her in what would be those last days, I knew the end was near. At times I would think to myself as I kissed her good night it was ok for her to let go and on occasion would whisper it to myself, perhaps she heard me. Early on the morning of Feb. 11, 2020, she at last found peace again. Even though she is no longer here with us, she will always be in our hearts and memories.

My mother was predeceased by her husband, Roy, in 1999. She leaves behind her cousin, Elaine McCarty; her daughter, Kim Stevens and husband Jeff, and their children, Myles and Julia; and me, her son, Paul, and my daughters, Rachel and Anna Marie.

Here’s to you mom, we love ya, you old pragmatic Maina!



For those who would like to make a donation in my mother’s memory, these are a few of her favorite organizations that she both

worked at and volunteered her time at after retirement: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, Score of

Portland, Fort Williams Park Foundation and The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ of Portland.




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