Anne-Marie Carlson

Anne-Marie Carlson of White Plains, passed away on Friday, October 25th, following an extended illness. After more than two decades as an elementary school teacher, she turned her global interests to the United Nations and became chair of the Committee on Teaching About the UN. In that capacity she and the committee held more than 20 annual conferences at New York headquarters on contemporary issues with worldwide scope and public interest.

Similar conferences were also convened by Anne-Marie outside New York at the Carter Presidential Center, Emory University and Georgia State University in Atlanta as well as the University of Texas in Austin and Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Others were held at North American University in Houston and Shortridge Magnet High School for Law and Public Policy in Indianapolis and when the Covid-19 pandemic closed most public venues including the UN, she and her colleagues employed Zoom technology to continue reaching their audience through videoconferencing.

Throughout her educational career Anne-Marie was an active and dedicated member of The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and, over the years, had leadership roles at the local, state and international levels. She earned a BA in Arts and Music and a MS in Elementary Education at Hunter college.

Together with her husband, she journeyed to more than 150 countries and territories during her lifespan of 80 years. Prior to boarding a plane or a ship, she thoroughly researched each destination, digging deep into each area's history, arts, culture and people. A proud offspring of Norwegian-American parents, she maintained close ties with her family overseas.

Further evidence of that pride was the random addition to the household of three Norwegian Forest Cats and a Norwegian Elkhound. Only one remains along with a kitten brought in from the cold in February four years ago, a Hemingway cat known for polydactyl paws.

Here at home she taught at Yonkers and later Bedford schools. During an opportunity to live and work abroad, she taught at the Joint Embassy School in Jakarta, Indonesia, an institution sponsored by four embassies including the United States. There she developed long-lasting relationships with colleagues not only of the US and Indonesia but Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to her husband, Don, she is survived by a cousin, Lawrence Larsen of Georgia.

Remarks from the family: 

I very much hope that you’ll be able to join us for one or both of these services but, if you’re unable, we hope to provide live streaming of the church service via Zoom. More details to follow once we have the means of access.

● Cards and flowers are welcome. Feel free to use your personal florist or the florist used by the funeral home which is linked to this webpage. 

● If you wish to offer brief remarks concerning your relationship with Anne-Marie, please communicate this to myself, Donald. We would like to know in the event this option has to be managed.

● If you are interested in joining us for a light lunch after the graveside service, we look forward to a prompt response to myself, Donald, so we can order the meal service accordingly.