Our mom, Myra Doreen Anderson Carlson, entered this world on August 10, 1939, in Williston ND, to proud parents, Raymond and Ruby Anderson. She was soon joined by Dennis, Eugene, Arlene (Labere), Arvid, and Rodney. Myra was involved in school activities and graduated from Ray High School in 1957. Mom talked about traveling to basketball games in nearby towns by train. She remembered going to band day in Williston and Regina.

The fall of 1957, Mom ventured on the train to Moorhead College, the first time she had been away from home, to obtain her teaching certificate. On a trip to MN a few years ago with Audrey and Christie, Mom said that the Fargo-Moorhead area was too flat for her which they thought was pretty funny because Ray certainly isn’t hilly terrain. She talked about being very homesick during that first year and terribly missed baby brother, Rodney. Her first teaching job landed her as a 1st grade teacher in Terry MT where she taught for 1 year.

In Terry, she met Gayle Carlson who became her husband on May 28, 1960. They spent a few months that first year of marriage, in West Yellowstone, but returned to Terry. Audrey joined the newlyweds in January 1961, to be followed by Blaine in July 1962, Christie in June 1963, and Deidree in August 1964. Mom, for about 3 years, had 3 kids in cloth diapers and just a washing machine so dried diapers on the line or hanging around the house in the winter. She was busy those years tending to kids and making a home.

Myra and Gayle’s next move took them to Wolf Point where Dad worked for Servi-soft and then district manager for the Billings Gazette which kept him on the road a few days a week. Mom kept a garden and canned the fruit of her labors. Mom’s and Dad’s car at that time was a Volkswagon bug and when we would go to Ray to visit Grandma and Grandpa Anderson, Audrey and Blaine would sit in the back seat, Christie would ride on the back window deck, and Mom would hold infant Deidree on her lap – a far cry from all kids needing to be in a car seat until age 8!
After a few years in Wolf Point, the family moved to Glendive where Dad was a police officer and Mom sold Fuller Brush. They owned their first home in Glendive and chose to paint the kitchen pumpkin orange. By that time kids had started school, and Mom served as Campfire Girls leader and getting kids to swimming lessons, baseball, and other activities. Dad went to Highway Patrol school in Helena while Mom kept the home fires burning.

Glasgow Air Force Base, which was owned at that time by Avco and then Tumpane, was the next destination. Dad joined the police department and Mom was a secretary at the central office. We moved into a 4-plex in a warm, early December - we kids were wearing shorts and spring coats. They purchased a small camper which Dad would pull to Ft Peck Lake on Memorial Day and home on Labor Day. Any days off from work were spent at the lake. Many memories were made and fun had at the West End campground.
1972 brought the family back to Terry with the purchase of the L & M Drive Inn café. Operation of the drive inn was a family affair – Dad and Christie would open for breakfast, Mom and Audrey were waitress and cook later in the day, and Blaine and Deidree got to clear tables and do dishes. Mom did the scheduling, ordering, and bookkeeping. We still tried to camp at Ft Peck once or twice in the summer, make a trip to Medora, and got to go on vacation to the Black Hills.

Mom and Dad’s next venture was buying the Coast to Coast Store in Terry from Geri Kalfell. They expanded the store into the next door old post office building. During this time, Dad re-entered law enforcement as undersheriff while Mom operated the hardware store. Dad became ill in 1986 and Mom managed the store until 1988 when they liquidated and moved to Billings where Mom was a bookkeeper at the Gibsons store.

In 1992, Mom and Dad moved to Williston ND where Mom worked at Quality Tax until her retirement. She raised beautiful vegetable and flower gardens at their homes in Williston. Mom and Dad had a close relationship with Mom’s brother Arvid and wife Carol. She kept busy visiting friends and kids and grandkids. Mom enjoyed trips to Minot for shopping and going to Hostfest every fall was a highlight of her year. Medora shows had become an annual birthday trek and the concert series and Entertainment, Inc. shows in Williston rounded out her social calendar.
Over the years, Mom truly became family to her children’s in-laws, especially with Neal’s brother and sisters who lived closest. Her siblings and their families and her Anderson/Thompson cousins were important to her. She looked forward to Grain Palace days where she could reconnect with old friends and family.

Mom was adopted by her children’s friends and loved being included in lunches/suppers with Tara and Laura. She didn’t miss a birthday party or holiday gathering for a chance to visit and celebrate. People were important in her life - she has every card, graduation announcement and wedding invitation she ever received.

Mom moved into the Legacy Apartments in 2004, which she had visited during band days when the building was the Williston High School. She loved her apartment and the friends she made there. She enjoyed Saturday Coffee Talk and the monthly birthday parties and informal pizza nights. She spent a few weeks the past few winters with Blaine and Deidree and families in California. She kept up with what was happening in her children’s and grandchildren’s lives and was very proud of all of them.

Mom left her home on earth for the last time Tuesday, August 14th, to join Dad, Arvid, Grandma, and Grandpa in Heaven. She was a quiet, kind, generous mom, grandma, sister and friend who will be missed by many.

She is survived by her kids: Audrey and Neal Stromberg, Blaine and Belle Carlson, Christie and Ray Mallory, and Deidree and Jim Wurth; grandchildren: Scott, Ben and Katie, and Todd Stromberg; John Paul, John Raul, and Mikayla Carlson; Lynn and Branden Mallory; Becky and JB Bearce; great-granddaughter Tabi Bearce; siblings: Dennis and Geri Anderson and children; Eugene and Kelly Anderson and children; Arlene and Richard Labere and children; Rodney and Mary Anderson and children; sister-in-law, Carol Anderson and Arvid's and Carol's children. She was preceded in death by husband, Gayle; her parents, Raymond and Ruby Anderson; brother, Arvid Anderson; grandson, Michael Wurth; and nephew Cory Anderson.