Obituary of Michael James Karlson

Karlson, Michael J., age 68, of Eagan, passed away suddenly February 16, 2022. Michael was born June 21, 1953, in Minneapolis. After graduating from Minneapolis Southwest High School in 1971, he attended the University of Minnesota, where he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1975 and subsequently his Masters of Education, along with numerous certifications in the life sciences.

Michael was a career science teacher, starting at St. Francis High School and in 1976 joined the faculty of the Academy of Holy Angels (AHA) in Richfield. He taught Biology, Pre-Biology, AP Biology, Chemistry, Astronomy, and Animal Behavior. He also served for a time as Science Department Chair and was voted by students as “Teacher with the Best Laugh”. Michael was an advisor to the AHA award-winning quiz and knowledge bowl teams. He retired from AHA after 35 years of teaching there.

In his retirement, Michael enjoyed meeting with his friends to compete in trivia. His team was nationally ranked. His “trivia family” will miss “Zapus” (Michael’s login name for trivia) sitting at the head of their table. If you don’t know the meaning of zapus, the teacher in Michael would encourage you to look it up, as we had to.

At AHA, Michael began assisting with coaching track and field, which led to his officiating track and field and cross country. As an official, Michael was well-versed in all levels of the sport and officiated at them all. Athletes at meets at the U of MN, Gustavus Adolphus, and St. Thomas U knew him as their clerk of the course. Athletes in The Minneapolis Conference and MSHSL Section 3AA knew him as their meet referee. Athletes at the US Olympic Trials knew him as a member of the High Jump crew. Runners at the state high school cross country meet saw him working at the start and finish lines. Team members competing in the state true team track meets at Stillwater knew him as their clerk of the course and their coaches knew him as a member of the committee that did the groundwork to make the meets happen. Michael also served both USATF-MN and MSHSL as a clinician, teaching the officiating skills and methods needed to give athletes fair competitions. He was looking forward to serving on the Jury of Appeals this spring at the BIg10 Outdoor TF Championships. In short, if there was a meet somewhere, you weren't surprised to see him officiating in some way. In the past 15 years, Michael has worked with crews that handled cross country meets for multiple conferences and sections. He was not just a worker for the meet duration but was also present from early in the morning through the end of the sessions painting lines, measuring mile marks, laying down cone lines, and picking up and packing up meet materials at the end. Truly a person who contributed in many ways to be sure that things were done by the rules in ways that made sense and gave each athlete his or her best chance to do well. He will be missed for his work, his extensive knowledge, his ability to work any position at a meet, his friendship and camaraderie, his mentoring and his contributions to the sport.

Michael loved his family, especially his nieces and nephews, and enjoyed the numerous family gatherings. He was preceded in death by his parents Robert and Geri Karlson and his sister Julie Karlson. He is survived by 5 siblings, Paul (Carol) Karlson, Steve (Cheryl) Karlson, Tom (Beth) Karlson, Kris (Mike) Phillips and Patti Karlson, ten nieces and nephews, Chad (Katie) Karlson, Anthony Kerssen, David Karlson, Megan (Dan) George, Andrew Phillips, Kristopher Phillips, Lydia Karlson, Sam Karlson, Robert Karlson, and Anna Karlson, and one grandniece, Alice. Michael will be greatly missed by his family and a multitude of friends from teaching, officiating, and trivia.

Michael also loved fishing and golfing with his best friend John Bennett (a fellow biology teacher who started at AHA the same day as Michael), but both activities were becoming more difficult for Michael. A good friend provided these comforting words: “I believe he is in a place where his knees no longer hurt, his breaths come easily and sustain him, his heart is strong, his hands and gait are steady, his mind is sharp as ever, and he’s ready to catch fish and win at trivia.”

Service of remembrance will occur Sunday May 22, 2022, at the Cremation Society at 4343 Nicollet Avenue S in Minneapolis.  Visitation at 1:00 PM, service at 2:00 and coffee reception to follow.  In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Bell Museum of Natural History and the Academy of Holy Angels Teachers and Academics Fund.