Leslie “Les” Gale Carlson
Leslie “Les” Gale Carlson, 77, of Celeron, NY and Rolette, ND, died on December 24th, 2022.
She was born on July 30th, 1945, to Arthur D. Carlson and Phyllis (Eggleston) Carlson in Celeron, New York. Leslie was the oldest of six siblings and grew up on the shores of Chautauqua Lake.
She attended elementary school in Celeron, NY. Leslie graduated from Southwestern High School in Jamestown, NY in 1963. She went to the University of Pennsylvania where she received a degree in nursing.
Leslie moved to Belcourt, North Dakota in the summer of 1981 with her two children, Edward, and Joanna, her cat, and her dog in her dodge truck. She worked as a home health nurse at the Quentin N. Burdick Memorial Health Care Facility. She met the love of her life and future husband Roderick, at a square-dancing event in Rolla, ND. They were married on November 11th, 1985, at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Belcourt, ND. They bought a farm near Rolette, ND in the summer of 1987 and became neighbors with the Richard and Denice Casavant family. In 1993, Leslie left her position as a home health nurse and completed a program to become a Swedish massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. Leslie was a caregiver her entire life, she cared for numerous family members throughout different stages in their lives. If you spent even five minutes talking with her, you knew exactly what she thought about whatever was being discussed. She was a strong advocate for women's rights and fair pay.
Leslie loved to spend time at the International Peace Garden (Dunseith, ND). She had a green thumb and always had an impressive plant collection in and outside of her home. She was an avid reader and shared her love of reading with her children and grandchildren. She enjoyed seeing theatre, listening to music, watching the news, and happy movies. She played the French Horn and piano. She enjoyed spending time with her friends (particularly Sharon, Fred, Pam, Ruby, and Andrew), family, and her three grandchildren. She loved to travel and would take her children on summer vacations to National Parks and Washington DC, always insisting that trips could be as fun and educational. Leslie loved tent camping, and she had a fondness for Maine, bodies of water, sunrises, sunsets, northern lights, stars, and the moon. She traveled by herself as she grew older, including a month-long trip to Sweden in 2013. She traveled from western NY to north central ND numerous times over the past 42 years. She loved talking with people from all over and had a soft spot for animals.
Leslie is survived by her husband, Roderick Robert, of 37 years; her children, Edward Jackson (Kelly Dailey) and Joanna Jackson-Graves (Joshua Graves), and her three grandchildren, Kathryn, Elsie, and Molly. Leslie is also survived by her siblings; Janice Newcomb, Kim Ingrao, Neil Carlson, and Tracey Smith; many nieces and nephews, and many other family members and friends. She will be sorely missed by all who knew her.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur D. Carlson, and Phyllis (Eggleston) Carlson; her brother, Steven Carlson; her in-laws, Adalbert Robert and Delia (Plante) Robert; her sisters-in-law, Annette Robert, Aliana Moyer, Angela Jarvis; her brothers-in-law, Rudolph Robert, Anatole Robert, Charles Moyer and Gene Jarvis, and her nephew-in-law, James Jarvis.
Per Leslie’s wishes, there will not be a funeral.
If you would like to donate in her memory, please consider one her favorite places, the International Peace Garden - https://peacegarden.com/donate/ or the Chautauqua Institution - https://giving.chq.org/