Ruth Carlson

Ruth Carlson (nee Aïda Ruth Caldera), 88, of Los Angeles, California, passed away peacefully on February 4, 2024 in the company of her children, from natural causes.

Ruth was born on January 9, 1936, in Managua, Nicaragua.  She moved to the United States at a young age, with her family settling in Los Angeles, where she attended grammar school and then Polytechnic High School, where she made lifelong friends whose company she cherished. 

One night in 1960, at the Cinegrill at the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California, Ruth met the love of her life, Lars G. Carlson.  Over the next 53 years, they built a happy and fulfilling life raising their children, running a successful business, hosting friends and family in their home, and traveling the world whenever they could, including many trips to Sweden to visit Lars’ family.  Devoted to each other and inseparable, they navigated the hard times while creating a lifetime of happy memories.  

As a young woman, Ruth worked as a fashion model and a seamstress, then later became a bookkeeper for the family business as well as an avid homemaker.  She was known as much for her beauty, style and elegance as she was for her warm and loving nature. She touched the lives of everyone she knew with her kindness, easy laugh, and wonderful cooking.  From friends and neighbors to family from around the world, Ruth opened her home to host social gatherings, parties, holidays, and extended visits without hesitation.  Her memory will be cherished by all who had the privilege of knowing her.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Lars, sister, Melba, and grandson, Ashley.  She is survived by her brothers, Richard and Miguel; her four children, Sylvia, Edward (Betsy), Elsa (Juan), Sigurd Lars (Estela); her grandchildren, Greig (Jade), Patric (Melanie), Lalo, Timothy, Maia, Evan James, and Nora; great-grandchildren, Charlee, Jett, Stevie, Ashley, and Cameron; and a large extended family in Sweden and across the U.S. whom she loved with all her heart.  

A memorial service to celebrate Ruth’s life will be held at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church at 2060 N. Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles on March 2, 2024 at 1pm. 

In memory of Ruth, charitable donations can be made to Alzheimer’s Los Angeles in support of those suffering from Alzheimers or another dementia, at alzheimersla.org.

May her soul rest in eternal peace and her memory be a blessing.