Terri Lynn Carlson

LAKE GOGEBIC, Mich. — Terri Lynn (Behrens) Carlson, age 79, passed away peacefully in her home on the western shore of Lake Gogebic on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024.

Terri was born in Minneapolis and raised in the upper Midwest in a family rooted in faith and the farming culture of southern Minnesota. Terri and her husband of 55 years, Kenneth, married in 1968.

Terri graduated from Valparaiso University and earned her master’s degree in social work from Washington University. Over the course of her career, she worked with Lutheran Social Service and agencies and clinics in St. Louis, northern Minnesota, Rochester, New York, Faribault, Minnesota, and the Upper Peninsula. Under the auspices of Bergland Township and the Lake Gogebic Improvement Association, Terri began the Clean Boats-Clean Waters initiative for Lake Gogebic.

She is remembered for her abiding faith, intelligence, unworldly patience, and gently subversive soul, as well as her charming and, occasionally, delightfully wicked sense of humor. She was a champion for mental health and a fierce and creative competitor in the card game 500. Her enduring kindness to all made a profound impression on almost everyone in her orbit, and this quality more than anything is what her adult children aspire to pass along in the world.

Her legacy includes her and Kenneth’s four children, Jennifer, Nathanael, Kristen and Hannah; sons- and daughters-in-law, Andrew, Eliana, Kory and Geoffrey; and grandchildren, Emilia, Benjamin, Jackson, Adelyn, Zoey, Micah and Leo.

Terri was preceded in death by her parents, Marlo “Bud” and Junice “Judy” (Striemer) Behrens; and she is survived by her sisters, Baniata “Bani” Kurth and Kathryn “Kathy” Fehlandt; and her brother, Valdon “Duke” Behrens.

In memory of Terri and to honor her life and love of the outdoors, her family will be creating a garden of plantings native to the Upper Peninsula. Remembrance plants or gift cards may be arranged by order from upnativeplants.com. (Mention the “Terri Carlson Memorial” in the note box; or use the recipient email [email protected] for eGift cards.)

A memorial with friends and family to celebrate and share stories of her life will be planned at her home on Lake Gogebic when the ice lifts from the lake and warmer days take hold.

The family has chosen McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home in Ironwood to honor Terri’s legacy of life. To make an online condolence visit McKevittPatrickFuneralHome.com.