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Clarice Louise Wellemeyer Carlson
1913 - 1996
Clarice Louise Wellemeyer was born
on Dec. 6, 1913, in Klemme, Iowa, in the family living quarters above her
father's general store. She was the third of five children born to Arthur
Wellemeyer and Lydia Griewe Wellemeyer.
A precocious child, Clarice skipped the
second grade and graduated from Klemme High School in 1930 at the age of 16. Her
father felt she was too young to go to college, so she worked in his store for
one year keeping books and going other general duties. Then her father gave her
$50 with which to attend the summer session at the Iowa Normal School, now the
University of Northern Iowa, in Cedar Falls.
She entered the teaching profession
in the fall of 1931 at age 17 as an elementary school teacher in a one-room
country school. In addition to teaching all eight grades, her responsibilities
included carrying water and maintaining the fire in the school's wood stove. She
attended Iowa Normal School for two more summers and continued teaching during
the school year.
She married James Carlson of Klemme in 1936. Their son, Arthur, was born in
1939, and soon afterwards, James and Clarice moved to Sheldon, Wis., and later
to Ingram, Wis., where they purchased a 160 acre farm. Their daughter, Candace,
was born in 1942. During the 1940s Clarice was recruited to resume her teaching
career, again in a one-room country school. Later she taught first and second
grades in Ingram, Wis. In 1950, the Carlson family relocated to a farm near
Klemme, Iowa. Clarice very soon went back to teaching, this time in the Goodell
School which was later incorporated into the Belmond Community School District.
Throughout her teaching career, she continued her post-secondary education,
receiving her B.A. degree from Drake University in 1961 and her M.A. degree from
the University of Northern Iowa in 1968. She retired in the 1970s having taught
for more than 30 years, often teaching two generations of children from the same
family.
After retirement Clarice and James moved to Belmond, Iowa. They moved to Tamiami
Village, North Fort Myers, Fla., in 1980. In her later years, Clarice maintained
an active lifestyle, studying Spanish, singing in the choir, and supporting the
work of the Hobby Club in Tamiami Village. In the 1980s she was featured in a
Fort Myers News-Press article and gained notoriety as the creator of the
crocheted "Holiday Hats" that adorn the street lamps of Tamiami Village each
winter during the holiday season. This tradition now continues during other
holiday periods as well. She was an expert solver of crossword puzzles; she
maintained this skill until she died although by then she needed help to read
the clues.
After James died in 1995, with her eyesight failing, she became active in the
Visually Impaired Persons (VIP) program in North Fort Meyers. At the time of her
death, she was still crocheting afghans and was diligently working to master the
Braille for the benefit of those whose eyesight was not as good as hers.
Everyone who knew Clarice loved her for her kind, gentle, generous nature. She
was tolerant of a wide range of behavior in others, but never compromised her
own traditional ideas. "And now," to paraphrase the words of her father, Arthur
Wellemeyer, "after a lifetime of service to her family and friends, the Master
says, "Well done," and she died peacefully while taking a nap on Sept. 5, 1996.
[in Fort Myers, Florida]
Clarice was preceded in death by her brother, Andrew Wellemeyer; and her
husband, James Carlson. She is survived by three sisters, Mrs. Ethel Bacon of
Klemme, Iowa; Mrs. Ruth Hanson of Titonka, Iowa, and Mrs. Nora Mohler and her
husband, Richard, of Backus, Minn.; two children, Arthur and his wife, Elaine,
of Nevada City, Calif., and Candace Murray and her husband, Michael, of Fort
Myers, Fla.; four grandchildren, Inga Hooper and her husband, Kevin, of Morris
Township, N.J.; Kyla Carlson and husband, David Wilt, of Sunnyvale, Calif.;
James Murray of Alexandria, Va., and Joan Murray of South Arlington, Va.
Memorial services were held on Sept. 13, 1996, in North Fort Myers, Fla., with
Pastor Joseph Cooke officiating. Memorial gifts may be made to Visually Impaired
Persons of Southwest Florida, Inc., P.O. Box 344, North Fort Myers, Fla.
33918-3464.
source: Mason City Globe Gazette, 5 October 1996
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- Clarice L Carlson: born 6 Dec 1913 - died 5 Sep 1996
Grave marker at Coral Ridge Cemetery, Cape Coral, Lee County, Florida -
Section: Garden Of States
- source: Find-A-Grave, memorial# 59095034
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