Nathalie M. “Lee” Carlson, 83, Cold Spring

April 26, 1932 – February 22, 2016

Nathalie M. “Lee” Carlson, age 83, of Cold Spring, died peacefully Monday, February 22, 2016 at Quiet Oaks Hospice House in St. Augusta, MN. Funeral Services will be held at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday, February 27, 2016 at Abounding Joy Lutheran Church, St. Cloud. Visitation will take place from 4:00-7:30 p.m. Friday, February 26, 2016 at Benson Funeral Home, St. Cloud and 1 hour prior to the service Saturday at church.

Lee was born on the shores of Sand Lake in Scandia, Minnesota on April 26, 1932, to Nathan & Selma (Olson) Lindgren, the great granddaughter of Johannes & Anna Christina (Mattson) Lindgren, granddaughter of Franklin & Martha Lindgren. She was baptized on June 6, 1932 at Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia, MN and confirmed her faith on June 7, 1947 at Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia, MN.

She was a humble servant of the Lord that grew up on the family farm, second of four children. She loved and had an affinity for animals and lakes, and strove to keep them in her life. She learned her domestic skills from her mother, but spent most of her time helping her father with the farm work. She was known for being able to drive/handle all of the Belgian draft horses they had on the farm and could guide them by voice. She often rode her Belgian horse, Babe, to school and activities.

She met the love of her life, Bennie "Doc" Oliver Carlson, veterinarian and friend of her older brother Harvey, and married him on June 6, 1953 at Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia, MN. They had almost 63 wonderful years together with Lee being homemaker, office manager, and surgical nurse for his veterinary practice in Stewart, MN where they made their home and raised their family for 26 years. They made many lifelong friends there at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, the SnoGoer's snowmobile club, and bowling before moving to Cold Spring, MN where they resided except for a 6 year hiatus in Lawrence, Kansas while Doc worked for the USDA. They loved to bowl, hunt, and vacation together, in particular to see lighthouses, along with supporting the MN Vikings and MN Twins teams.

She attended Hay Lake School, a one room school house in Scandia, MN (now a museum) through eighth grade and then attended and graduated from Forest Lake High School in Forest Lake, MN in 1950. She worked as a mother's helper in Scandia and a nurses aide in Forest Lake Hospital while in school. She went to college/nurses training at Gustavus Adolphus College in St Peter, MN and at Bethesda Hospital in St. Paul, MN where she made many lifelong friends. She received her RN degree in 1953. Over the years that she worked as an RN, she worked at St. Luke's Hospital, Hutchinson Community Hospital, Litchfield Community Hospital, Paynesville Community Hospital, and a hospital in Lawrence, Kansas. She worked in most areas of nursing, from surgical nurse to cardiac intensive care nurse on the tough night shift before retiring in 1996 after 43 years.

Lee was an active founding member of Abounding Joy Lutheran Church in St Cloud, MN, which she and Ben helped grow. She enjoyed, and was quite good at, sewing, knitting, crocheting, organizing, reading, bread baking, softball, bird watching (especially cardinals), snowmobiling, deer & bear hunting. She enjoyed watching figure skating and gymnastics along with football. She was active in many churches and clubs over the years, quilting and making prayer shawls right up until her diagnosis of cancer a few months ago. She lived a full and active life, and thanked God daily.

She was a lifelong partner, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, aunt, friend, and caregiver for others. She is survived and will be deeply missed by her husband, Bennie “Doc” of Cold Spring, MN; children, Christine (Ray) Dosdall of Columbia Heights, MN, Lynda Lee Peterson of Princeton, MN, and Kenneth Bennie Carlson of Rockford, IL; 3 Grandchildren, Sara Peterson, Adam (Maddie) Peterson, Jocelyn "JoJo" (Will) Mager and 4 great grandchildren, Nic Peterson, Joy Peterson, Wyatte Mager, & Jazzmynn Mager who all loved her dearly; her She is also survived by her younger twin siblings Diane Chester and Dean Lindgren, and her in-laws, Marion Segelstrom, John & Linda Carlson, and Jan Lindgren. She is preceded in death by her parents; older brother, Harvey Lindgren and brother-in-law, Harvey Carlson.

Memorials are preferred to the Abounding Joy Audio/Visual fund, Pancreatic Cancer Research or Quiet Oaks Hospice House.