Obituary of Ruth Palmer Carlson

Ruth Palmer Carlson died on October 5, 2020 in her daughter’s home in Elizabethtown, PA. She was a long-time resident of Montgomery County in Maryland. For over 25 years, she and her husband Richard Speer Carlson lived in Leisure World – a retirement community located in Silver Spring.  In this community she served as a Kiwanian, and in 2001 received a “Citizen of the Year Award” for organizing interesting and informative Fireside Forum speaker’s events.

Ruth was born in Cleveland, Ohio on November 17, 1930. She was the only child of Hedwig and Julius Palmer. She grew up in Cleveland Heights and attended Heights High School. She graduated with a BA from Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio. Her major was home economics, her minor was in art. After graduation, she moved to California to work as an Interior Designer for Barker Brothers in Los Angeles. She married Richard “Dick” Carlson in August 1959. She gave birth to Sally in 1960; Nancy in 1962. She was a stay-at-home mom who was heavily involved in the leadership of the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital.

Ruth is loved and missed by her two daughters: Sally Carlson Zimmermann and Nancy Ann Carlson; her son-in-law John Zimmermann; her grandchildren Amy and Scott Zimmermann; and her grand son-in-law Tichakunda Mangono.

On Saturday, October 17, 2020, guests are invited to a graveside service at 10:00 AM at Parklawn Memorial Park, 12800 Veirs Mill Road, Rockville, MD 20853 and a memorial service at 2:00 PM at Inter-Faith Chapel, 3680 South Leisure World Blvd., Silver Spring, MD 20906.  Observance of CDC guidelines for masks and social distancing is required.  Respectfully RSVP.  Contact info@spencefuneralservices.com by October 14 to indicate the number in your group planning to attend the memorial service.  Please omit flowers.  Memorial contributions may be made to Inter-Faith Chapel at Leisure World.  To request a link to view a webcast of the memorial service, contact Spence Funeral Services. To express a condolence with the family or for additional information, visit www.spencefuneralservices.com.

To view a tribute to Ruth, made by her family, click https://use.vg/sHKnWf