Obituary for Jack A Carson
Jack Carson passed away Thursday, March 3, 2022. He was 92 years old, and tonight he’s dancing with his wife, Joyce, in the ballrooms of Heaven.
Jack was born Jan. 27, 1930, in Burns, Ore., to Lester “Lefty” Carson and Elenor “Cookie” Carson. He married Joyce Way after her previous husband, Dick Way, passed while breaking a horse. Jack had his work cut out for him as Joyce had four children, Debbie, Colleen, Sherry and Steve, and together they added Jodi. To be a cowboy back in those days, it was very hard to raise a family of five, but he did it. Jack also had two children of his own, Levi and Jackie Carson, by Amy Tilton. Jack taught all his daughters how to Western swing when they were young as he was a great dancer. Jack was also a great bowler and bowled until the age of 87 with some of the greatest bowlers in the valley like Skip, Curt and the late Darrel Simpson.
Jack left school in the 10th grade to ride the rodeo circuit. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951 as a Morse code operator and then discharged in 1953, where he then returned to the rodeo.
Jack won more championships at the Lewiston Rodeo than any other cowboy, with three wins in bareback and one time bull riding. At Chief Joseph Days in Joseph, Ore., he won the bull riding six times, saddle bronc and bareback and was voted best all-around cowboy. Jack was honored as a legend in Oregon, and they said if he had continued, he probably would have been a world champion cowboy, but Jack wanted to be home with his wife and kids instead.
Jack lived at his home “Fort Carson” in Clarkston with his daughter, Debbie, as his caretaker up until his death, while Steve, his son, took care of Fort Carson business for many years. Debbie says, “Every morning when he woke up, he would say ‘Howdy.’ He told me many stories, and I was always on the edge of my seat because they were so exciting. Most of them are not appropriate for the paper, but I can say he got lots of late night calls from his buddies who needed some backup at the Jade in Lewiston. Jack was known as a scrapper and he told me he never started fights, but he always finished them, and he finished many.”
Jack could sit and listen to music all day. He loved to tease and often chose not to use your name; he quickly assigned most friends and family funny nicknames. He loved to tease and often refused to refer to you by your first name and quickly assigned most rooks a nickname.
Later in life, the grandkids became very important. Dustin and Sundee loved listening to his stories and became very close. If Jack had a problem, Dustin was always the first person he called.
There are so many things to say about Jack Carson. A hell of a cowboy, bowler, scrapper and above all, humble.
Special thanks to Bev Simpson for being there for Jack; he loved her cooking. And to Selina Silflow, Lisa Horner, Paige Dantini, Patrice Tatham, Sandy Thrasher, Stacie Dean, Jackie and Levi Carson, Dustin Spooner, Sundee Spooner and Kelsie Spooner, and Jim Fisher who would show up every couple of weeks with milkshakes and Linda’s famous pickles.
His celebration of life will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Lancer Lanes, 1250 Bridge St., Clarkston. Dust off your cowboy boots and hats because we are going Western. Special thanks to Ned Paffile and Steve Way for handling costs for this event.
Jack was born Jan. 27, 1930, in Burns, Ore., to Lester “Lefty” Carson and Elenor “Cookie” Carson. He married Joyce Way after her previous husband, Dick Way, passed while breaking a horse. Jack had his work cut out for him as Joyce had four children, Debbie, Colleen, Sherry and Steve, and together they added Jodi. To be a cowboy back in those days, it was very hard to raise a family of five, but he did it. Jack also had two children of his own, Levi and Jackie Carson, by Amy Tilton. Jack taught all his daughters how to Western swing when they were young as he was a great dancer. Jack was also a great bowler and bowled until the age of 87 with some of the greatest bowlers in the valley like Skip, Curt and the late Darrel Simpson.
Jack left school in the 10th grade to ride the rodeo circuit. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951 as a Morse code operator and then discharged in 1953, where he then returned to the rodeo.
Jack won more championships at the Lewiston Rodeo than any other cowboy, with three wins in bareback and one time bull riding. At Chief Joseph Days in Joseph, Ore., he won the bull riding six times, saddle bronc and bareback and was voted best all-around cowboy. Jack was honored as a legend in Oregon, and they said if he had continued, he probably would have been a world champion cowboy, but Jack wanted to be home with his wife and kids instead.
Jack lived at his home “Fort Carson” in Clarkston with his daughter, Debbie, as his caretaker up until his death, while Steve, his son, took care of Fort Carson business for many years. Debbie says, “Every morning when he woke up, he would say ‘Howdy.’ He told me many stories, and I was always on the edge of my seat because they were so exciting. Most of them are not appropriate for the paper, but I can say he got lots of late night calls from his buddies who needed some backup at the Jade in Lewiston. Jack was known as a scrapper and he told me he never started fights, but he always finished them, and he finished many.”
Jack could sit and listen to music all day. He loved to tease and often chose not to use your name; he quickly assigned most friends and family funny nicknames. He loved to tease and often refused to refer to you by your first name and quickly assigned most rooks a nickname.
Later in life, the grandkids became very important. Dustin and Sundee loved listening to his stories and became very close. If Jack had a problem, Dustin was always the first person he called.
There are so many things to say about Jack Carson. A hell of a cowboy, bowler, scrapper and above all, humble.
Special thanks to Bev Simpson for being there for Jack; he loved her cooking. And to Selina Silflow, Lisa Horner, Paige Dantini, Patrice Tatham, Sandy Thrasher, Stacie Dean, Jackie and Levi Carson, Dustin Spooner, Sundee Spooner and Kelsie Spooner, and Jim Fisher who would show up every couple of weeks with milkshakes and Linda’s famous pickles.
His celebration of life will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 26, at Lancer Lanes, 1250 Bridge St., Clarkston. Dust off your cowboy boots and hats because we are going Western. Special thanks to Ned Paffile and Steve Way for handling costs for this event.