Gerald ‘Jerry’ Carlson
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Gerald Eugene “Jerry” Carlson, 90, died Oct. 27, 2023, in Springfield, Ill.
A celebration of his life will be held at 10 a.m., Nov. 14, at Concordia Village, Springfield, Ill. His ashes will be interred at Camp Butler National Cemetery. The family is being served by Butler Funeral Home, Springfield, Ill.
Gerald was born Oct. 28, 1932, in Hartington, to Knute Carlson and Esther (Lindahl) Carlson. He grew up on farms outside of Wausa, graduated from Wausa High School and attended Luther College, Wahoo. He married Rosemary Ann Walgreen Sept. 5, 1952, in Osceola. The newlyweds then moved to Sacramento, Calif., where he served in the Army as a military depot clerk during the Korean War. Upon completing his military service, they moved back to Wausa, where their daughter, Rene, was born.
Gerald’s experience of growing up on a farm led him to pursue an academic career in the agricultural sciences, so they moved to Ames, Iowa, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agronomy at Iowa State University. It was there their other daughter and son, Shawn and Todd, were born. From there, the family moved to State College, Pa., where Jerry earned a Ph.D. in forage physiology and biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University. Upon finishing his graduate studies in 1963, he began a career with the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS), first as a research scientist in the Forage and Range Lab, and then as chief of the Light and Plant Growth Lab at the USDA research facilities in Beltsville, Md.
In 1984, he moved to Philadelphia to become the associate director of the USDA ARS North Atlantic Area, and in 1986, he became the director of the USDA ARS Midwest Area, headquartered in Peoria, Ill. In 1989, he left the USDA to become the chair of the Agriculture Department at Western Illinois University, Macomb, Ill., where he served until his retirement, when he moved to the Concordia Retirement Village, Springfield, Ill.
Dr. Carlson received many awards and recognitions during his career as an agricultural scientist and science administrator. In 1971, he was awarded a Japanese Research Grant for Foreign Scientists, allowing him to conduct research for seven months at the National Agricultural Experiment Station in Sapporo, Japan.
He was a member and fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society of America and a recipient of the Merit Award of American Forage and Grassland Society. He served on the board of directors for the Council of Agricultural Science and Technology. He was also a long-term member of Kiwanis Club, serving as president of the Macomb Chapter and being awarded the Kiwanis Hixson Fellows Award.
He is survived by his wife, Rosemary, Springfield, Ill.; daughters, Rene Carlson, New York, and Shawn Orton, Utah; son, Todd Carlson, Michigan; seven grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Concordia Village Employee Scholarship Program.
