Longtime Kirkwood Resident and Decorated WWII Vet Dies at 88

The following obituary was provided by Bopp Chapel in Kirkwood.

Legacy

Gordon “Hartley” Carlson Longtime Kirkwood resident, Hartley Carlson died Oct. 30, 2012 at St. John's Mercy Hospital.

Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 9, followed by a service at 11:30 a.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 7700 Davis Dr., Clayton, MO. Interment will be at 1:30 p.m. at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Hartley was born April 15, 1924 in Chicago, IL. He graduated from Lane Technical High School, Chicago, and the Illinois Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Business and Economics. He served in the Eighth Army Air Corps during World War II as a Flight Engineer on B-24 Bombers earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medals among others.

He married Joyce Marilyn Leithardt on September 10, 1949 in Chicago. They are the parents of: Pamela Little, Clear Lake, IA, Brian Carlson, Port Washington, WI, John (Donna) Carlson, Eureka, MO and Cherie Krauss, Kirkwood, MO.

They are grandparents of seven grandchildren: Scott (Kaley) Little, Cedar Rapids, IA; Aria and Hartley Carlson, Columbia, MD; Jacob, Alan and Jesse Carlson, Eureka, MO; and Nola Krauss, Kirkwood, MO. They are great grandparents of Brecken Little, Cedar Rapids, IA.

Hartley was active in numerous church and community activities. His ready smile and kindness will be missed by those who knew him. He was deeply committed to his faith, his family and proud of being “100 percent American with Swedish parts."

He was preceded in death by his parents, J.V. and Emma Carlson, and his siblings, Judith Anderson, Ralph Carlson and Kenneth Carlson. Memorials may be made in Hartley Carlson's name to Sunshine Ministries, PO Box 66880, St. Louis MO 63166-6880.

Visitation

Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 9, followed by a service at 11:30 a.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 7700 Davis Dr., Clayton, MO.

Services

Funeral service Friday, Nov. 9, 11:30 a.m. at Central Presbyterian Church, 7700 Davis Dr., Clayton, MO.

Interment

Interment will be Friday, Nov. 9, 1:30 p.m. at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.