William "Will" Carlson

William Frederick Carlson, age 81, of Erwin, SD, peacefully passed away at his home in Erwin, SD, on Saturday, February 4, 2023.  Funeral services will be at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 18, 2023, at the American Lutheran Church in De Smet, SD.  Pastor David Peterson will officiate with music provided by Mary Weerts.  Active pallbearers will be Tyler Carlson, Joseph Carlson, Chuck Wolkow, Greg Wolkow, Randy Page, and Rod Bell. Honorary Pallbearers will be William’s grandchildren and Rod Page. The funeral service will be live-streamed on our website.

Visitation will be at the Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel in De Smet, SD, on Friday, February 17, 2023, from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Burial will be at De Smet Cemetery following the service.

He was born on September 14, 1941, at the Erwin farmhouse of Lloyd and Dorothy (Wolkow) Carlson.  He was the second of four children, with one older sister and two younger sisters.

As a young boy and teen on the farm, William worked hard milking cows, harvesting and threshing crops, and learning all aspects of farming from his father.  He attended Erwin High School where he played basketball and ran track for the Erwin Arrows.  He attended West Bethany Church near Erwin, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Bryant, and the American Lutheran Church in De Smet.

William met the love of his life, Darlene, at the Lake Preston movie theater.  They married on June 4, 1961, and moved across the road from his birthplace.  He began farming and started a trucking business for hauling livestock, grain, and water.  Together they had two sons, Ricky and Richard. 

William loved farming and his trucking business.  He raised beef cattle and a wide variety of crops throughout his life.  He was a friendly face throughout the community and the state.  He regularly attended farm sales, sales barns, and antique farm equipment and threshing shows.  One would often see him driving slowly down country roads, admiring the crops and stopping to talk to any neighbor he met.

One of William’s passions in life was hunting.  He hunted small and large game for over seventy years.  He would tell amazing stories of every hunt he went on.  His proudest moment was in 2009, when he entered the Boone and Crockett Club for Records on North American Big Game for a large pronghorn antelope he collected in Meade County.

Another of William’s passions was antique tractor restoration.  A craft he learned from his father Lloyd, he would spend hundreds of hours buying antique equipment and restoring them in his shop.  One would see him proudly driving a just finished restoration in the local annual parades.

William also enjoyed traveling to NASCAR races with friends.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Darlene of Erwin, SD, and his two sons, Ricky (Melinda) of Tampa, FL, and Richard of Deadwood, SD; his grandchildren:  Mia, Joseph, and Jeremy Carlson, all of Tampa, FL; Tyler (Leah) Carlson of Omaha, NE; and one great grandchild:  Ivy Carlson of Omaha, NE.

William was preceded in death by his father, Lloyd, and his mother, Dorothy.

Arrangements by Crawford-Osthus Funeral Chapel www.crawfordosthus.com Watertown, Hayti, De Smet, Bryant

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