Don as Yell King at Snohomish High School

Riverside National Cemetery

Dad joined the AIR FORCE in 1946, serving 3+ active years at Eielsen Field in Fairbanks, Alaska. From 1946-1947 he was an aerial gunnar and flew many early morning missions out of Tampa-St. Pete over Cuba, 12 years before the 1959 Castro revolution. In the reserves from '49-52, he did not get called up in the Korean conflict.

In August 1950 he married Elizabeth Bonney and by 1956, had three children, Sherryl, Craig and Tami. He served his apprenticeship as a machinist, became a journeyman and later a cost estimator and manufacturing engineer with Western Gear in Seattle.

In January 1960 he transferred to the Belmont, California Western Gear facility. 

He worked as a manufacturing  engineer for Sylvania, Boeing and Lockheed, but ultimately co-owned a small machine shop in Silicon Valley.

After all three children were married he divorced and fulfilled his dream of living in Orange County, California. At a Di


Parents Without Partners, he met Sue Armstrong, who was single with three children of her own, Suzin, Karen and John. Dad and Sue married in 1978 and up until Dad's passing on April 16th, 2024, they've remained in the same home.

Upon retirement in 2002, but not able to sit still, Dad ended up working a second career for the Los Angeles Angels until 2016.

His legacy is as a "dad" to so many. He never missed a baseball, soccer or dance event and that included all six children.

Growing up in South Park, Seattle, a heavily Italian immagrant neighborhood, his was the only Swedish family. Grandpa Diembrosio, a local Italian, who spoke no English, dubbed my father, "SWEET", by mistake. He could not remember Dad's name so he tried to get his attention by calling out, "Swede", but with the accent it came out as SWEET.

Grandpa Diembrosio was prophetic. Dad was just a young boy vur he definitely grew into his name, Sweet, and though cantankerous with colorful language, he became a dad to the neighbors, my teammates, my sibling's friends,  and many others.

In April of 2015, I showed up one night in his section at Anaheim Stadium during a game. For a while, I semi-hid behind a load-bearing pole and just watched him. At 86, then, it didn't matter if you were seven or eighty-seven, his sincere greeting to all was the same, "Hi, how the hell are ya?"

What struck me the most that night was Dad introduced me to so many, but not to any big-shots. Dad could care less about positions, titles and credentials. I got introduced to his peers and the janitors and he loved every darn one of them, every race, creed, religion, gender and persuasion, they were all treated equally. Believe me, Dad could tell politically incorrect stories and get away with it. He WAS NOT in any way bigoted nor offensive. 

That night he introduced me to an Angel employee who at only 35, had just lost her husband. She had a 10-year-old boy and was really struggling to make sense of it all. She looked me straight in the eyes with tears rolling down her cheeks and said, "We all just love your dad, Craig". Probably the most poweful thing I've ever heard.

Over this past few years, Dad deteriorated but continued to eat well until just recently. Last Wednesday night he told his wife of 46 years, Sue Armstrong, that he loved her. I guess sensing he was nearing the end, he even told my sister that he was packing. She asked, "packing for where?" Dad answered, "Alaska, but I'm not taking this television. It's not worth a damn."

Donald, Dad, Don, Sweet or Donny will be missed and leaves a huge hole the rest of us still will attempt to fill.

My stepmother, Sue, ninety herself, and not really well, was Dad's caregiver and companion until the end. 

My sister Suzin stayed with them and helped as much as she could with shopping, laundry and cleaning up after Dad.

My sister, Karen was the rock of Gibraltar who loved Dad unconditionally, working tirelessly to try to keep him comfortable and arranged all the hospice help she could muster. Karen is going straight to heaven, though not for a long time. She adopted Dad as her own father and loved and cared for him unconditionally. What a gift. What a Saint.

Don leaves behind his older sister, Rose (96) of Covington Washington. His eldest daughter, Sherryl with her long time boyfriend, Jim, daughter Jennifer, Jennifer's husband, Jared, daughters Alyssa and Addy and son, Joshua. Daughter Tami with husband Bruce, son Justin, Justin's wife, Sienna and their daughter, Ella.

He also leaves his son Craig, wife Suzanne, grandsons Ryan (with his girlfriend, Natalie, daughter Little Natalie, Isaac and Tyler, their children), and Jonathon with his wife Stephanie, granddaughter, Kimberly with her husband, Bobby and their son, Nash, Bethany and Sarah with her husband, Joe. Suzin and her only child, Stefan. Karen, her husband Jim, and her daughter, Briana, Briana's husband, Ron, and their daughter, Avery. Finally, son John and his wife, Lisa.  

Quick story: I said Dad never missed a game, but working feverishly on the SST Program for Boeing in 1967, he did miss one. Late in the game my team was down by a run, with one out and a runner on first. As I left the "on-deck circle" toward home plate  to bat, one of my teammates shouted out, "Hey, Carlson, the pressures on". I turned around, glared and only as a, full of himself, fourteen year old could, I said, "I love these f..king situations". Just as the 'F-Bomb' rolled off my tongue I caught a glimpse of a man in a blue suit coat and tie about five rows up. Yes, Dad had shown up. He heard every word, and retired Air Force Sergeant that he was, I knew that life as I knew it was going to end that night when we got home.

At his sixteeth birthday we all roasted him at a surprise party. He thanked us then said to me, "But I'm only 59". Panicked I said, "You were born in '29 and this is '89. You're 60". He responded, "Yes, but I was sick a year."
- Craig Carlson 

PS - I'm certain he greeted St. Peter Tuesday with, "Hi, how the hell are ya."

DONALD A CARLSON

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