Viola Arlene Carlson, 80, died Sunday, June 24, 2012, at Our House Memory Care in Austin, Minn., surrounded by her family. Viola passed after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

She was born Feb. 14, 1932, to Eugene and Helen (Koch) Weller on the farm near Dazey, N.D. Viola was the first born of a set of twins born on a blustery Valentine’s Day. She weighed three pounds and her identical twin sister weighed two pounds. The girls were nursed with an eye dropper by their grandmother who was a mid-wife. She swaddled them in blankets and put them in a roaster on top of the stove to keep them warm. She was raised on the family farm near Dazey.

Viola attended school at Dazey and graduated in 1950. She was united in marriage to Jerry Carlson on June 15, 1950. Jerry began his career in the banking field. The Carlsons’ first son, Craig Dean, was born in 1951. In 1954, they had their second son, Jeffrey Brian. Jerry continued working in banking with Viola raising the boys. In 1960, they were blessed with their first daughter, Candace Joanne, and again in 1963 with the birth of their second daughter, Catherine Marie. The family was full circle with two boys and two girls.

In 1968, Jerry landed a job in Minnesota and the couple moved their family to Lindstrom, Minn., where Viola resided until 2008. She worked for Plastic Products Inc. for 25 years, retiring in 1995.

Viola was a member of the Chisago Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church where she brought up all her children in the Lutheran faith. She was active in Bible Study, Circle and the Kitchen Community. In 2001, Viola was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. She moved to Austin in 2008 to be near her first daughter, Candy.

Viola was preceded in death by her husband Jerry and parents Eugene and Helen Weller.

Viola is survived by her sons Craig (Carol) Carlson, Clifton, Va., and Jeff (Deanne) Carlson, Brooklyn Park, Minn; daughters Candace (Lyn) Carlson/Anderson, Austin, and Catherine (Greg) Lutz, Ramsey, Minn.; grandson David Carlson, Virginia; granddaughters, Cari Carlson, Virginia, Raelene and Caitlin Carlson, Brooklyn Park; brother Clarence (Doris) Weller, Dazey; twin sister, Violet (Doug) Quick, Valley City, N.D.; several cousins and many nieces and nephews.

Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. on Monday, July 2, 2012, at the Chisago Lake Evangelical Lutheran Church, Center City, Minn. with the Rev. Gary Garvey officiating. Interment will be in the Hillside Cemetery. A visitation will be held on Sunday, July 1 at the Clasen-Jordan Mortuary in Austin from 3 to 5 p.m. The family prefers memorials to the Alzheimer’s Association.