Kathleen Flynn Carlson

Kathy Carlson, a speech-language pathologist in Missoula area rural public schools and loving daughter, sister, wife, and mother, passed away May 5 at her home in Missoula. She was 63.

Born Kathleen Marie Flynn on April 6, 1952, in Helena, Kathy was the daughter of Joseph W. Flynn Jr., an insurance and real estate agent, and Dorothy M. Flynn, a special education teacher in Helena Public Schools. Her maternal grandparents were John and Lavina McBride, and her paternal grandparents were Joseph Sr. and Rena Flynn.

As the first of nine children, Kathy learned early on how to play with, educate and care for children, defining roles throughout her life. She felt an affinity for the water, and loved to swim as well as explore the outdoors in the mountains and lakes of Montana. Kathy was always musical, and was the only one of her siblings who followed through with piano lessons. Music was a great source of inspiration; she held season tickets to the Missoula symphony and always owned a piano.

Kathy attended Helena Cathedral High School through 1969, when the school closed its doors forever. Although she transitioned to Helena High School with her fellow classmates for her senior year, she considered Cathedral High to be "her school" when she thought back on those years.

In 1970, Kathy started college at Montana State University, but soon transferred to the University of Montana in Missoula to pursue a degree in psychology. Missoula was her home for the rest of her life. She continued on to complete a master's degree in speech-language pathology, working in the economics department to support her education. In college, she played on an intramural softball team, and was part of the Sunshine Travel Ajency, a group of friends who met for one weekend each year for a daylong hike followed by camping and camaraderie.

In her mid-20s, Kathy met Jim Carlson. Together with friends and family, they built a log cabin on a mountaintop in the Garnet Mountains east of Missoula. "The cabin" was a singular place for Kathy, embodying her love for nature and family as well as her do-it-yourself spirit. She spent many weekends at the cabin flower watching, hiking, skiing, and exploring old homesteads and mines. In Missoula, her great appreciation for natural beauty took form in her garden, where she cultivated all variety of fruits, veggies and flowers. Every winter, she delivered her harvest to friends and family in the form of sundry preserves including enough applesauce to feed her husband and kids for a year.

Shortly after their 1979 Missoula marriage, Kathy and Jim had a daughter, followed three years later by a son. Kathy was a marvelous mother. She approached motherhood with both heart and mind, from reading the latest parenting research to cooking homemade meals every evening despite long work hours. Her dedication and generosity to her son and daughter was balanced by high expectations for them. Kathy defined herself as a mother, and took incredible joy in her children.

Affinity for new places and experiences motivated Kathy to travel. With her young family, she explored state and national parks around the West, from the beaches of Oregon to the peaks of Banff, Canada. Many summer weekends, she packed her family into a small trailer and traveled to a nearby lake or river. Later in life, Kathy felt grateful to travel internationally, including the UK, Italy, Brazil and Central America. On these trips, and at home, she voraciously attacked most any novel. Board games were another favorite pastime, and she was a talented wordsmith.

Kathy was a steadfast advocate of public schools. Starting in the late 1970s, she began working for the Missoula Area Special Education Cooperative as a speech-language pathologist, a post that she held for the rest of her life. Initially, she served public schools in Arlee, Charlo and St. Ignatius. She later worked in Clinton and Bonner elementary schools until retirement in 2015. She took great pride as a member of an autism evaluation team for children, and immersed herself in learning about the autism spectrum. Over her career, she helped hundreds of children better interact and thrive in the world. She genuinely cared about her students.

Kathy deeply loved her large network of family; her siblings and parents were especially dear. The chaos of large family reunions and intimacy of small holiday gatherings gave her a sense of connection, place, and belonging. When it came to family, she was always ready to cook a healthy potluck dish, host a family member or choose a thoughtful gift.

Family who will miss her dearly include her mother, Dorothy Flynn of Helena; daughter Kim Carlson (Hermann Rodrigues) of Minneapolis, Minneapolis; son Chris Carlson of Missoula; brothers and sisters, John (Donna) Flynn, Colleen (Marc) Scow and Patty (Bill) Anderson of Helena, Maureen (Mick) Miller of The Colony, Texas, Bob (Rose) Flynn of Silverdale, Washington, Mike (Heidi) Flynn and Tom Flynn (Kim Saganski) of Redmond, Washington, and Meaghan (Dave) Shrontz of Santa Barbara, California. She also left behind numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and friends. Her father, Joe Flynn, preceded her in death.

A memorial service will be held for Kathy at University Congregational Church on Wednesday, May 20, at 4:30 p.m. followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, we encourage donations to The Parenting Place (parentingplace.net), a community-based organization that aims to prevent child abuse by strengthening families.
Read Kathleen Carlson's Obituary and Guestbook on www.missoulafuneralhomes.com.