Dr. Jon Carlson, passed away on February 1, 2017, in Madison, Wisconsin due to complications from a bone marrow transplant. Jon had a long teaching career that included positions at Wayne State University (1969-1971); Governors State University (1971-1973); Nova Southeastern University (1973-1975); University of Hawaii (1976-1977); University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1978-1982); Adler School of Professional Psychology (1985-1989); and Governors State University (1989 – 2014). He earned a doctorate (Ed.D.) in counseling and guidance from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1971, and he was a licensed professional counselor, school counselor, and alcohol and drug counselor. He practiced in Illinois, Florida, and Hawaii and at the Lake Geneva Wellness Clinic (Wisconsin) for over 40 years. He had over 60,000 direct contact hours with individuals, couples and families. Jon was the author of over 60 books, over 185 professional articles and book chapters, and the creator of over 300 professional training videos. He served as the editor of several journals, and was a prominent Adlerian scholar and practitioner. Many of his books and videos are among the main learning tools in Adlerian psychology.

Jon fully squeezed the most of out of his 71 years on Earth. A proud and active father of five children married to the love of his life for 50 years, Jon excelled as a prolific scholar, educator, college professor, psychologist, competitive athlete, and advocate for people others in the community. Whereas Jon always dreamed of fishing and catching the big one, all along he was the big fish for the many people around him. The theme of Jon’s life was to never stop learning and to always grow beyond one’s perceived boundaries. Despite the many professional achievements, Jon was most proud of helping other people reach their goals. He embodied encouragement. If you were one of his students (or one of his children) then he most likely constantly reminded you to go get a doctorate. He liked Hawaiian shirts, and to make to-do lists. He believed in the gospel of Carl Rogers and Aaron Rodgers.

Jon did lots of things, but at the end of each day he would meditate, saying a loving kindness prayer for every person who he interacted with that day- colleagues, students, clients, family, friends, cashiers, the newspaper carriers, and anyone else whose life collided with his that day. He believed that life was constituted of moment to moment encounters, and that making a positive difference in the world began with these moments.

He will be missed by his family and many friends, colleagues, and his beloved dog, Huxley.

If you would like to make a donation to CSI in memory of Dr. Carlson, you can contribute to CSI’s General Fund.

Originally published at csi-net.org on February 9, 2017.