Elmer John (Pete) Carlson, 96, died at Pacific Care Center in Hoquiam, on April 16, 2013. Pete was born on December 26, 1916, in Nome, Alaska to Pete and Anna Carlson. He was reared and educated in Seattle and graduated from Garfield High School where he was a star football player. He loved to ski and it was on one of his ski trips to Mt. Rainier that he met his future wife, Marie Bertelli. They were married in Seattle on August 30, 1940, and shared 70 wonderful years together as husband and wife.
He moved his family to Aberdeen in 1946. In his working career, Pete worked for Boeing and Union Oil before joining ITT Rayonier in Hoquiam, where he worked until he retired in 1977. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and the Aberdeen Elks Lodge. He was a skilled woodworker and delighted friends and family with many gifts. He and Marie enjoyed square dancing and ballroom dancing with their many friends. Over the years, they traveled throughout the United States and to Bermuda; for his 80th birthday, they went to Sweden to visit family. Pete kept abreast of the latest news and took great pleasure in discussing politics. He could be seen on any given day taking his many walks through his neighborhood, stopping to pet every dog along the way.