After 99 amazing years, Curtis "Curt" Wayne Carlson, left this world on November 24, 2025, with
his loving children by his side in Redding, CT.
Born in Chicago, IL to Arthur and Alice Carlson on March 26, 1926 during the boom times of the
roaring twenties, his family moved to a farm in northern Wisconsin in 1930. He attended a one
room country school through Eighth Grade and then went on to Peshtigo High School. He
excelled academically but, as a "farm kid," chores prevented him from joining in much of the
extracurricular activities. Always eager to serve his country and others, Curt was accepted into a Navy V-5 flight training
program in 1944, hoping to fly the PBY – Catalina. But with the war winding down, that program
closed before he had a chance and he joined the Navy instead as a 19-year-old Seaman. After
serving in the southwest Pacific, he returned home to Wisconsin in June 1946.
With the help of the GI Bill, he entered Bethel college in St. Paul, MN. From there, he
transferred to the University of Wisconsin—Madison. It was here where he met his wife of 68
years, Joyce Bush, a fellow UW Badger.
After earning a B.S. in Organic Chemistry, he entered University of Wisconsin Law School,
graduating in 1954 and began his accomplished career as a patent attorney in Syracuse, NY. In 1973, he was transferred to the Bristol-Myers headquarters office in New York City where he did some of his most interesting work, traveling throughout the world to medical research
centers, finding cancer drugs to be licensed by Bristol. With this new position, the family moved
to Cos Cob, CT. They quickly became active members of the community, building new and
lifelong friends while never losing touch with the cherished friendships made in Syracuse,
welcoming all to share in their 50 summers of sunsets at their favorite gathering place in their
Skaneateles cottage. After "trying" to retire from his career at Bristol, he was hired by Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as a consultant.
A mentor to many and a friend to all, Curt had the heart of a servant. He actively sought out
opportunities to support organizations and people in the communities where he lived and
beyond. He offered his time and talent as director or chair of many service organizations,
founder and chair of the Syracuse Plaza Nursing Home, Greenwich Choral Society, Search for
Change (halfway residential care for recovering mental health patients in Westchester County,
NY), the First Congregational Church of Greenwich, Pilgrim Towers (a residence for seniors in
Stamford).
Curt had a generous and sentimental heart and a childlike sense of wonder that only seemed to
expand with age. He had a love of sailing–from the dinghy to the North Star–that inspired many
an adventure. His appetite for books—and all things chocolate!—was insatiable. His deep faith,
unshakable. His inscrutable Scrabble skills, unparalleled. His puttering with a pair of clippers,
unstoppable. His love of music (from Mahler to chopsticks performed by his grandchildren),
boundless. His inner farmer, undeniable as he drove his John Deere tractor in a well worn pair
of overalls. But family was by far the greatest joy in his life. And while Curt had a way of making
everyone he met feel like family, he was devoted to the family he came from and the one he and
Joyce – who he tirelessly cared for until she passed – created together. Curt will be missed by
many including: his daughter Janet (Al), his two sons, John (Taffy) and Brian (Margaret), and
Claire, grandchildren: Megan (Evan), Kristen (Devin), Tim (Jenna), Brian (Aquene), Sam, Jack
(Alex), Emily, Ben, and Jenny and Davis. And much to his delight, his clan continued to grow to
include five great-grandchildren including Austin, Anna, Emma, Jackson and Cole, not to
mention all the nieces and nephews he adored. Curt is predeceased by his wife Joyce, sisters
Marian and Joyce and brother Burt. He is survived by his brother Randy in Marinette, WI.