Viola Lenore Poole Carlson, 96, went to be with Jesus on June 8, 2020, while a resident in the Cottages at Meadows on Fairview, an Ebenezer Home, in Wyoming, MN.

'Vi' was born in rural Donaldson, Minnesota, on January 31, 1924, to John and Hilma Poole. A few years later  the family moved to a farm east of Kennedy, MN, where the family was completed: Edythe, Martha, Vi, George, Ruth, Vergil, and Kenneth.

She was baptized and confirmed in the East Emmaus Lutheran Church where she learned that, in spite of those outward rituals, she wasn't ready for heaven.

Vi graduated from Kennedy High School in 1941, and after a short time as a nanny in Minneapolis, MN, she became a part-time housekeeper and part-time student at Wheaton College, in Wheaton, IL, where she met George Carlson who had a three-year old son, David. George and Vi were married in 1944 and two daughters were born, Carol and Barbara. It was there that Vi accepted God's free gift of forgiveness through Jesus and knew then that she was ready for heaven. The family moved to a farm south of Thief River Falls, MN, where she helped with the animals and farming.

George died in 1960. Vi moved to Kennedy, Fargo, Minneapolis, and finally to Wyoming, MN, where she lived until her death.

As a child, Vi loved to sing with her family, something her extended family loves to do almost every time they get together. She was fascinated with God's creation and would often call attention to it whether it was mountains, tall trees, a ladybug or a small flower. Her embroidery was exquisite, and her lemon pie was made from freshly-squeezed lemons, topped with towering meringue. Her passion was meeting the practical needs of people, especially at the Tandala Hospital in Congo. She loved to read, and her Bible was her guide. Her father taught her to abhor waste and as a result, she would take home used bars of soap, almost-empty bags of liquid soap, almost-empty rolls of toilet paper, and shampoo left behind by the clients of the health club where she was employed to keep the shower area clean and freshly stocked. Her family is still using some of what she gleaned many years ago.

One time Vi saw a ladder leaning against the roof of the two-story house where she used to live.  She climbed the ladder, walked to the peak of the roof, shinnied up the TV antenna pole and hung from the antenna while younger people below took pictures. There is a persistent story about how, on her 80 ^th birthday, she was going to show the younger ones how to ride a bicycle, fell, and broke her wrist, making it almost unusable.

She worked the night shift as an aide at Oakland Park Nursing Home and switched to day hours at the hospital in Thief River Falls, MN, and later at the Hallock, MN, hospital. She was a care-giver for an elderly man in Kennedy, MN. While in Fargo she made draperies during the day and pizza crusts at night. She worked at Blue Cross/Blue Shield in the Twin Cities as a telephone operator and later as a claims processor even while working at the health club. For over a decade she worked two eight-hour jobs during the day. She lived on jelly-toast and sandwich cookies.

After retiring at 65, and moving up north, she loaded her car with clean and pressed clothes, and drove alone to Kentucky, without the aid of Google Maps, to deliver them to a missionary who quickly found eager recipients.

She lived most of her life in northern Minnesota. She loved to tell of the winters when her father would hitch the horses to the 'caboose' (an almost enclosed room on runners, warmed with a wood-burning stove), and take the children to school. That was fun!  She didn't like to celebrate Christmas in December when it was very cold and dangerous to travel on snowy roads. So, every year she would state emphatically, "We should celebrate Christmas in July!!!!" Her family finally listened and will celebrate 'Christmas in July' on July 25th with a 'white elephant' gift exchange after her memorial service.

She is survived by her brother, Kenneth (Ione) Poole; daughters Carol Simning and  Barbara (Gary) Mattson; Grandson Lee (Sarah) Mattson and Granddaughter Andrea Mattson (Douglas) Schmidt; Great-grandsons Gideon Schmidt and Beckett Schmidt; cousins Lois Erickson, Donald Anderson, and Dewayne Sjostrand, and several nieces and nephews. She was greatly loved and will be greatly missed.