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Nov. 9, 1950-Dec. 17, 2020
Westlie Arthur Carlson
passed away suddenly De-
cember 17 at St. Alexius
hospital in Bismarck, ND.
Wes has been reunited
with his bride, Martha,
who passed away on
March 12 this year. They
will be buried together at
North Dakota Veterans
Cemetery in Mandan, ND.
Funeral services will be
on Monday, December 28,
2020, at 11:00 a.m. at the
Bismarck Funeral Home.
Visitation will be one
hour prior to the start of
the service. For those
who cannot attend, the
service will be streamed
live on the Bismarck Fun-
eral Home Facebook page.
Wes was born No-
vember 9, 1950 in Minot,
ND. Minot would be his
home almost all his life.
He was the son of Arthur
and Doris (Brown) Carl-
son, and spent his child-
hood cooking up mischief
for his younger sisters.
Westlie graduated from
Minot high school in 1968
and became a skilled
driver for his father's sani-
tation business. Wes
eventually took over Carl-
son Sanitation, and pro-
vided reliable service for
decades. When mobility
became a challenge, Wes
sold the sanitation busi-
ness and then drove
school bus. "Mister Wes"
loved the kids on his bus,
and loved harassing them
even more, frequently an-
nouncing, "I forgot where
you live!"
Wes married Martha
Hansen on April 23, 1971.
It was a bonus that she
was a blonde and was
feisty enough to keep up
with Wes's antics. Wes
and Martha raised three
children. Sometimes the
family would join Art and
Doris for the weekend at
Rice Lake, with boat rides
and Martha on waterskies.
Wes always had a special
love for animals and treas-
ured the family's dogs and
cats. Later Wes and Mar-
tha were blessed with
eleven grandchildren,
which meant more kids to
joke with.
Wes loved motorized
things. He raced snowmo-
biles and later enjoyed
three wheelers, motorcy-
cles, boats, lawn mowers,
cars, trucks, and eventual-ly his scooter. He particu-larly liked to bedazzle his
Goldwing motorcycle, ap-
propriately named
"Daddy's Toy", with
chrome. Later Westlie
taught himself about com-
puters, and especially
liked to print cards, jokes,
and pictures of the
grandkids.
Westlie had been living
at Missouri Slope nursing
home in Bismarck for a
month and said you'd
have to search miles and
miles to find better staff.
He also appreciated the
help at Benedictine Living
Center of Garrison and
The Wellington in Minot;
all three were homes in
the last year. Westlie was
always a joker and kept
his good humor to the
end.
Westlie is home with
his Savior. Home with
Martha. Home with family
and friends that have gone
before. Through Christ's
sacrifice, they've pulled
the ultimate trick on
death. "Where, O death, is
your victory? Where, O
death, is your sting?"
He is survived by: chil-
dren: Paul (Maria) Carl-
son, Phoenix, AZ, Mary
(John) Lemke, Houston,
MN, and Michael
(Samara) Carlson,
Bismarck, ND; eleven
grandchildren: Jared,
Suzan, Anna, Bethany,
and Brielle Carlson,
Phoenix, AZ; Kezia,
Evelyn, and Joseph
Lemke, Houston, MN; Ga-
brielle, Emily, and Aubrey
Carlson, Bismarck, ND; si-
blings: Wanda (Keith)
Woods, Michigan, ND and
Lylia Hoffer, Mesa, AZ;
special nephew Jayson
(Lisa) Hoffer, Gilbert, AZ,
nieces Nicole Hoffer,
Mesa, AZ and Tammy
(Mike) Jorgenson, Crooks-
ton, MN; and several
more nieces, nephews,
and cousins.
Wes was preceded in
death by: his wife Martha,
his parents Art and Doris
Carlson, brother-in-law
Lyle Hoffer,
brother-in-law Fred Han-
sen Jr., sister-in-law
Ginger Hansen, niece De-
anna Woods,
great-nephew Ty Fischer,
and niece Nicole Hansen.
Those wishing to sign
the online guest book or
leave a message of con-
dolence please go to
www.bismarck
funeralhome.com.