Flora E. Carlson

Flora Etta (Higgins) Carlson was born October 27, 1917 to George and Anna (Jones) Higgins in rural Binford, North Dakota.  She was baptized in the Presbyterian Church.  When she was 8 years old, the family moved to a farm near Cooperstown, North Dakota.  She attended rural schools, sometimes riding her ornery shetland pony, and graduated at age 16 from Cooperstown High School. She worked on her parents farm and also for neighbors.  Some of her chores from a very young age were feeding the bottle lambs, collecting eggs, and pulling weeds in the garden.  As a young adult, she moved to Fargo to work.  She met Darwin Carlson and married him on May 25, 1948.  Over the next two and a half yars, they lived in various towns in North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska because Darwin worked for the Rural Electric Association.  Their first daughter, Cheryl, was born in Nebraska.  In 1951, they settled in Pine City.  She had three more children, Gloria, Butch, and Myron.Flora was a stay-at-home mom until her children were in school.  She then got a job waitressing at the "61 Way Cafe" and later at Doran's Grocery store.  She worked at the store for 22 years.  She retired from the grocery store at age 65 and continued to work part-time at the laundromat for 6 years.  She enjoyed reading, sewing quilt making, and knitting.  She canned hundreds of quarts of garden produce each year.  She REALLY enjoyed meeting friends uptown for coffee to visit and laugh.  Flora's church was very important to her for the 60 years she lived in Pine City.  She was an active member of the Presbyterian Church, an elder, Sunday School teacher, a member of Gleaner's Circle and  Presbyterian Women.  She was also a member of the V.F.W. Auxiliary and a past member of the American Legion Auxiliary.  She lived well, laughed often and loved God and her family.Flora was preceeded in death by her parents, George and Anna Higgins and her husband Darwin Carlson.  She is survived by daughters, Cheryl Carlson of Circle Pines, MN, Gloria (Jeff) Hoffman of Pine City, sons Boyd "Butch" Carlson of Pine City and Myron Carlson of Eagan, MN., grandchildren, Tessa Hoffman of Bemidji, MN and J. Boone Hoffman of Woodbury, Mn., cousin Shirley Ethan of Binford, ND. and sisters-in-law Maggie Carlson of Rush City and Verna Carlson of Pine City.Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Thursday, March 10th at the First Presbyterian Church of Pine City with Reverend Harry Lichy officiating.  Interment will be in the Birchwood Cemetery of Pine City.  Visitation will be on Wednesday evening from 4:00 until 7:00 p.m. at the Swanson Funeral Chapel and continue 1 hour prior to the service at the church.