| Graduation Year | Class of 1994 |
| Date of Passing | Apr 02, 2010 |
| About | Funeral services for Carrie Carlstrom of Spirit Lake were held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 7, at the Iles Funeral Homes-Grandview Park Chapel in Des Moines. Carrie Anne Carlstrom, 33, passed away at St. Mary's hospital in Rochester Minn. on April 2, 2010, from complications of a ruptured cerebral artery aneurysm. Carrie was born June 8, 1976, in Nevada, Iowa, to Linda and Eddie Erickson. The first 18 years of her life were spent in Maxwell, Iowa, and she graduated from Collins-Maxwell High School in 1994. She was salutatorian of her class and the homecoming queen. After high school, she attended Iowa State University, graduating in December 1998, with a degree in electrical engineering. During her college years, she worked part time repairing software problems for the John Deere Ankeny plant, and after graduation, worked full time there. Carrie was skilled in controls engineering, programming, robotic applications and other integral elements of production manufacturing. On Dec. 11, 1999, she married Jason Carlstrom of Des Moines. After Jason's graduation from Drake Law School, she and Jason moved to Spirit Lake, where he established a general law practice. Carrie then worked at the Pure Fishing (formerly Berkeley) manufacturing facility in Spirit Lake, using her skills as an electrical engineer and manufacturing engineer. She was promoted to a managerial position just before her death, and was returning from a European buying trip when stricken. Carrie had a passion for animals of all kinds, rescuing spiders, snakes, mice, cats, bats or any other animal, whenever she thought them threatened. She was skilled at the repair of almost any poorly working machine, computer, and was a skilled electrician and plumber. Carrie had a passion for fitness, outdoor activities of any kind; she was an adventurer and exceptional travel partner. Carrie is survived by her husband, Jason; her parents, Linda and Austin Ramzy from Clive, Eddie and Sandie Erickson from Maxwell; and her sister, Darcy Powers from Wilmette, Ill.; and several step siblings. She was especially devoted to and loved by her several nieces and one nephew, as well as her extended family of in-laws, Gracie her Labrador, Rhet her horse, and Morris and Bea, her cats. |
