Edward Sulo Karlson

Please click here to view the Live Stream of the Funeral Service for Mr. Ed Karlson. The Live Stream will begin on Thursday, January 7th, at 6:00pm

EDWARD SULO KARLSON

August 23, 1935 - December 28, 2020

Edward Sulo “Ed” Karlson died peacefully at the Ginger Cove Continuing Care Retirement Community in Annapolis after a long battle with dementia leading to Alzheimer’s disease.  He was born on August 23, 1935 to Lillian and Sulo Karlson in Quincy, MA.  After graduating from Quincy High School in 1953, Ed attended Tufts University in Medford, MA for one year.  He then accepted a Congressional appointment to the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY, where in 1958 Ed graduated with highest honors with a B.S. in Marine Engineering, a U.S. Coast Guard Third Assistant Engineer merchant marine license, and a commission as an Ensign in the U.S. Navy Reserves.

Following his Academy graduation, Ed sailed on his Third Assistant Engineer’s license for a short time with the Military Sealift Command (MSC) and then joined the staff of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) in its Office of Ship Construction.  His first MARAD assignment was with the New York Shipbuilding Corporation in Camden, NJ.  Ed then completed one year of graduate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA.  He then went on to work another 36 years for the Maritime Administration in Washington, DC.  Prior to his retirement from the government, Ed was the MARAD Head of the Division of Ship Production. 

For 28 years, Ed was a Selected Reservist with the U.S. Navy Reserves.  He had drilling assignments with various MSC and Naval Control of Shipping units, including one assignment as a unit Commanding Officer.  Ed retired from the Navy Reserve with the rank of Captain.  For 38 years, Ed was a Professional Engineer in the District of Columbia.

Ed and his loving wife, Evelyn Ruth (Benson), raised their family of three children in Bowie, MD, where they lived for 26 years.  In 1989, Ed and Evelyn moved to the Annapolis Landing community in Riva, MD.  In 2019, the couple moved to the Ginger Cove Continuing Care Retirement Community in Annapolis.

Ed loved working outdoors at his home and doing volunteer work at Grace Lutheran Church, where he was a member since 1963, in Bowie and for 30 years at the Annapolis Landing community.  In Bowie, he helped coach all three of his children in soccer, including making one trip to Germany with his son Dave’s travel team.  In retirement, he served with a local Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.  Ed and Evelyn also enjoyed many international cruises.  He was a lifelong fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Celtics and became a loyal local fan of the Washington Capitals and the Washington Football Team.  Ed also loved to golf with family and friends.

Ed is survived by his wife Evelyn of 62 years, who is also originally from Quincy, MA; his brother Ronald Karlson and his wife Carol of Dallas, GA; his children Bill Karlson of Haymarket, VA, Dave Karlson of Wilmington, NC, and Karalyn (Karlson) Mulligan of Edgewater, MD; daughters-in-law Theresa (Mills) Karlson and Lynetta (Almony) Karlson and son-in-law Rick Mulligan; six grandchildren – Casey Karlson, Kenna (Karlson) and husband Brad Stacks, Calvin Karlson and fiancée Samantha Miller, Paige Mulligan, Keri Mulligan, and Adam Karlson; great-granddaughter Arya Stacks; and many Karlson and Benson relatives in the U.S., Finland and Sweden.  He is pre-deceased by his parents Lillian and Sulo Karlson and his sister Paula Marie (Karlson) Barkley. 

A visitation will be held at Beall Funeral Home at 6512 NW Crain Highway, Bowie, MD 20715 from 5-6 pm on Thursday, January 7.  For the one-hour visitation, because of current COVID restrictions, Beall is limited to hosting only 10 people inside and 25 people outside at any one time.  Following the visitation, a private service will follow from 6-7 pm.  That service will, however, be live-streamed by Beall at the link above to allow people who cannot make it to the funeral home to be able to participate.  The family would greatly appreciate that people, especially those who knew Ed, post condolence messages and memories on the Beall website.  On Friday, January 8, Ed will be interned with military honors at Lakemont Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Davidsonville, MD at a private ceremony.  Post-COVID, the family will hold a celebration of life event for Ed at a location, date and time to be determined.

Memorial contributions can be mailed to Grace Lutheran Church at 2503 Belair Dr, Bowie, MD  20715 or made online to Alzheimer’s Association at https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=32112&32112.donation=form1.