Obituary: Carlson, Bess Brown (Milton)
CARLSON, Bess Brown
(Milton)
(Age 93)
Bess was born November 6, 1918, in Hillyard, WA.
She married James Milton in 1938 and had three child-ren together-two girls and a boy.
She lost James in 1944 and became a single mom raising the three children on her own.
In 1983, she met an old high school sweetheart, James Carlson, at her John R. Rogers 60th High School Reunion.
They were married for ten years before he died.
Bess graduated from John R Rogers High School in 1936.
She had been an active member of the Rogers Alumni since 1982 and was responsible for students of the 1930s decade, updating address changes and death notices, etc.
She volunteered many hours on various committees for electing Lilac Royalty and on application for Senior Year Student awards such as scholarships and grants for further education.
She was inducted into the prestigious “Walk of Fame” in 1994.
While in high school, Bess and a group of girls formed their own basketball team at the community center.
They played small town teams in the area.
In that time period, girls were not allowed to play inter-school sports.
They had 18 teams built up at one time.
Bess played and coached for several years, and became a referee.
They formed their own league of volunteer referees and traveled with local teams, which earned her a national referee rating.
Bess has been active in swimming and sports since she was six years old.
She taught herself to swim as formal swim lessons were not available at that time.
She earned junior and senior city swimming champion-ships from ages 12 to 17.
She also became a valuable member of the American Red Cross, teaching swimming and lifeguarding for the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department from 1937 to 1998.
She volunteered with the Red Cross on the Water Safety Committee until late into life.
She received many services awards from both the Spokane Parks and Recreation Department and the American Red Cross, including the Washington State Association’s Citation of Merit.
As an Assistant Supervisor of Aquatics, she oversaw the swim programs at all the city pools.
She taught lessons for many organizations, including the City of Spokane, Chester Hills, YWCA, Elks, and the Girl Scouts.
She volunteered many hours to competitive swimming (Amateur Athletic Union) keeping all the records for the fastest times for all the different age groups for the long and short courses for the Inland Empire.
She worked for the national committee for national records for 25 years, maintaining all these records by hand.
Bess was dubbed “Queen of the Pool Rats” in a Spokesman-Review article in 1994, a title well earned while being in charge of lifeguards, cashiers, swim teams, and the pool training and teaching programs.
Bess was appointed to the National Board of Governors of the United State Synchronized Swimming for over 40 years.
She remained on this committee until 2005.
In 1954, she formed the first and only synchronized swimming club at the time in our area, the “Silver Mermaids,” which she coached until 1982.
These girls not only competed, they performed in shows for many Spokane social events.
This was her crowning achievement in the swimming world.
When she was not in the pool, Bess was a School District #81 secretary.
She retired from 25 years of dedicated service in 1982.
She is survived by her daughter, Kaye Rosenbeck and husband, David of Medical Lake, WA; son, Arthur Milton and wife, Donna of Clarkston, WA; 13 grandchildren and numerous great and great great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Joseph Brown; husband J.D.
Carlson in 1993 and daughter, Linda Frint in 2000.
Memorial services will be held on Saturday, March 10, 2012, at 11:00 am, in the Alwin Chapel at HAZEN & JAEGER FUNERAL HOME 1306 N. Monroe.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Red Cross or John Rogers Alumni Association.