IN MEMORIAM
DR. CURTIS E. CARLSON, PERIODONTICS, CLASS OF 1974
Dr. Curtis Eugene “Curt” Carlson of Seattle died on March 19, 2014. He was 71.
Dr. Carlson was born on March 30, 1942 in Rockford, Ill. He received his DDS from the University of Illinois Chicago Medical Center in 1969. From there, he served in the U.S. Navy as an intern at Oaknoll Naval Hospital and as a dental officer on the USS Samuel Gompers. He attended the UW School of Dentistry for a combined four years of periodontal and orthodontic graduate school, while serving on the periodontal faculty, teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
A skillful and lifelong student of the dental sciences, Dr. Carlson maintained a full-time private practice in Bellevue, Wash., for 40 years. As a periodontist and orthodontist, he was committed to making a difference in his patients’ lives. In his last days, he was visited by numerous patients whose lives he touched with his expertise, jovial chair-side manner and caring nature.
Dr. Carlson was a beloved father, grandfather, husband, uncle and friend. An NRA member and avid fisherman, he loved to use light tackle to catch salmon and steelhead in Washington, Alaska and British Columbia. His gourmet-quality home-smoked salmon was eagerly anticipated by family and friends.
Dr. Carlson is survived by his wife, Dr. Dona M. Seely (’78, Orthodontics ’80); daughters Jennifer (Micah) Theckston and Gina (James) Rowles; son Erik; and grandson Jonah Theckston. He was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Dorothy, and sister Patricia Grams. (Seattle Times)