Rex L. Carlson

REX CARLSON NEW BOSTON, Illinois - Rex L. Carlson, 85, of New Boston, died on Tuesday, August 28, 2012, at the Select Medical Center in Davenport. Funeral Service will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 1, 2012, at the New Boston United Methodist Church. Reverend Beth Nelson of the New Boston United Methodist Church will officiate. Casket bearers will be Stacey Brown, Bill Brown, Ray Stange, Elmer Wagner, Val Abbott, Jim Oaks, and Chris Billman. Burial will be in Mannon Cemetery near New Boston. Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, August 31, 2012, at the Ralph J. Wittich-Riley-Freers Funeral Home. Rex was born on December 31, 1926, in New Boston, the son of E. C. 'Gene' and Geneva 'Neva' Willits Carlson. He graduated from the New Boston High School. He was a veteran of the US Army serving as a clerk in General McArthur's headquarters in Japan during World War II. Rex, along with his partner, Hal Zahn, owned and operated Carlson's Floral Shop in Muscatine for 21 years. They had also owned and operated Brown's Floral in Plant City, Florida, for nine years He was a member of the New Boston United Methodist Church, New Boston Masonic Lodge No. 59,...[more]

View Full Online Obituary and Tributes

der of the Eastern Star Mary Burns No. 24 in Keithsburg; the Muscatine Elks Lodge No. 304; and the V.F.W. He loved watching the Chicago Cubs and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Survivors include two sisters, Helen Irven of Bloomfield, Iowa; and Treva Steinbeck and husband, Daryl, of Owensboro, Kentucky; several nieces and nephews; and several great-nieces and great-nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, his longtime friend and partner, Hal R. Zahn; and two brothers, Donald Dean Carlson and Robert Carlson.