David J. Carlson Memorial Scholarship

David Carlson ‘68 was the ideal candidate to be recruited to CLC since he was Lutheran through and through. His parents had met at Uppsala College in New Jersey and married soon after graduation. Their older son Paul followed their example and became a Lutheran pastor, serving a Northern California congregation for many years.

David, in contrast to his brother Paul, was more athletically minded, and Southern California fit his lifestyle. He loved to surf, lettered on the CLC baseball team and wanted to become a physical education teacher or athletic trainer. David met his wife Hilarie Hart at CLC when she was a freshman and David was working on his teaching credential. They were married in 1975 and settled for a while in Hawaii where Hilarie had grown up.

In 1986 the couple moved back to California, settling in Coronado where David put his abilities to work in hotel management and Hilarie became human resources director for J. C. Penney. David continued his healthy lifestyle, but it ultimately became his undoing. One morning, on his regular run, he felt ill and stopped at the home of a neighbor. There he suffered a heart attack and died on their kitchen floor. This was in March 1991 when he was only 44 years old. His death came as a shock to the entire family and neighborhood.

Within six months, Hilarie took steps to create a memorial scholarship at CLU in David’s name. She encouraged family members to participate in giving to the fund. Hilarie expressed her thoughts in these words:

The friends David made in the sports programs; the close, caring atmosphere of CLU; and the experience of faith and fellowship were especially fulfilling for David. A scholarship at our alma mater seems an appropriate memorial.

Her words are meaningful to anyone associated with CLU and who knows the University’s mission. The David J. Carlson Memorial Scholarship reflects David’s life goals and athletic gifts by being designated for upper-division students who are working toward a degree in exercise science and sports medicine (formerly kinesiology). David would be pleased to see that his health-related interests are being observed through the scholarship that bearshis name.