Henry Carlson, 13, Mercer, ND died March 29, 2023 at Sanford Health, Bismarck. A Celebration of Henry's life will be held at 10:00 AM on Saturday, April 8, 2023 at Legacy United Methodist Church, 4600 Durango Drive, Bismarck.  The family will greet family and friends from 9:00 AM until service time on Saturday at the church.

Henry William Carlson was born on July 22, 2009 in Jamestown, ND to John and Annie (White) Carlson.  Named for two of his great-grandfathers, he was a historian from birth.  As a baby, Henry was his mother's constant companion, refusing every bottle ever manufactured.  His nickname was "Bump" for bump-on-a-log, because he never crawled.  Instead, he just sat on the floor while his older sister Jana brought him toys and ran circles around him.  The day he decided to begin his adventures into the world, he simply stood up and started walking.  And adventures he would have.  When his younger sister Eleanor was born, he called her El Note, which whimsically became her Spanish name, "The Note."

Henry loved to have adventures and explore old things and new places, the wilder the better.  Henry loved to walk and hike.  Henry asked a lot of questions.  He was a deep thinker, often asking questions no one thought to ask.  Henry loved to read – especially history and westerns. He despised liberties taken with historical fiction, "They don't know what George Washington said.  They just made it up!"  Henry loved museums, often pointing out inaccuracies in displays or placards, because he read them all.  There was no rushing Henry through a museum.

Henry loved sharing morning coffee, used book sales, and dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse with his mom.  He loved to eat good food, especially if he raised, caught, or hunted it himself. His favorites included roast chicken and risotto, fried potatoes and sausage, biscuits and gravy, turkey cutlets, and meatballs. He liked nothing better than a big breakfast. "Something hot and with pigs in it."

Henry loved his horse, Belle, working on vehicles and machinery with his dad, and playing games with his sisters.  His kind nature and big heart made him a gracious winner, often apologizing for laying down or going out first in cards. Henry loved quality time spent one-on-one with others.  He never did small talk, instead diving in with deep questions like, "Who is your second favorite Confederate General?" and "How many cows are you running on how many acres?"  A true historian, no matter the person, Henry wanted to hear your story, your history .

Henry loved to travel.  Among his favorite trips were Yellowstone National Park, Orange Beach, Alabama, the wilds of Montana, and the Black Hills, stopping at every museum book store along the way.  As a voracious reader, his personal library is more than one thousand books, and he always had at least four going at any time.  He loved Calvin Hobbes, The Far Side, and Garfield.

Henry loved the farm, having moved there at age 3, the same age his grandfather was when he moved to the home place in 1941, and was proud to be the 4 ^th generation of his family to care for the land.  His little flock of sheep and his turkeys were a source of pride and income.  He enjoyed working sheep, moving the flerd , and shearing day most of all.  He did not enjoy driving or working his mother's cows, but did love a good steak or burger, so he did it willingly.

You could often find Henry in character as Rooster Cogburn, Gil Favor, General Ulysses S. Grant, or various soldiers.  Many bandits were captured, forts built, and foxholes dug during his adventures.

Henry had his Papa White's hands and dry sense of humor, his Grandma White's dimples, and Grandma Carlson's kind spirit.  Born to two blue-eyed parents, Henry's green eyes were all his own.

Henry loved two smells, the smell of sagebrush as it crunched under his feet, and freshly dug carrots.  "Can you make a cologne out of this?"  he asked as his family dug carrots one fall.

Henry was loved with the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns by his parents, John and Annie Carlson, his sisters, Jana and Eleanor, and his dogs, Sadie and Chien.  He was tolerated by his cats, Lucy and Pumpkin.

His extended family loved him so well, Colleen and Gary Kummet (Katie, Caleb, Luke, Elizabeth), Skip and Victoria White, and his twin cousin, Charlie.  So many mentors and friends of all ages encouraged Henry in his interests and passions, and they loved him with their time and attention.

Memorials are preferred to the following organizations via the links:

Turtle Lake Public Library Via PayPal tlpublic@westriv.com

Center United Methodist Youth Group https://tithe.ly/give?c=6796243