116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Lillian Carlson-Solbrig
LILLIAN CARLSON-SOLBRIG
Cedar Rapids
Lillian Sarah Carlson-Solbrig, 99, resident of Hiawatha Care Center, passed away Jan. 10, 2015. Services will be 1 p.m. Tuesday at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home. Visitation will be from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.
Lillian is survived by her four children, Ellyne (Ted) Novak of Citrus Heights, Calif., Jack (Carole) Carlson of Phoenix, Ariz., Dr. James Carlson of Rocklin, Calif., and Ruth Carlson of Stone City; several grand-children, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren; and her sister, Hazel (Don) Calhoun of Florida.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, four brothers, two sisters and two granddaughters.
Lillian was born Oct. 24, 1915, in Covington, Iowa, to John Sullivan and Eva Price. She was the third born of eight children. In 1955, Lillian married Henry Solbrig at the Little Brown Church in Nashua. Henry preceded her in death in 2012. Lillian worked as a massage therapist until her retirement in 1994. She loved her work and found it very rewarding helping people. Lillian received many awards for her charitable donations and volunteerism. She enjoyed writing poetry and was very good at it. She loved to do crafts and was very creative. She was a member of the Westminster Church.
Lillian didn't have the opportunity to finish high school, as she needed to start working in her teenage years. It was a dream of hers to have a high school diploma, and at the age of 62, she attended classes to successfully earn her GED. It was a very proud moment for her. She had a very positive outlook on life and no matter her challenges she would always say, "It will be better tomorrow."
Memorial donations may be directed to Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF), c/o Carlson, 11815 County Road X28, Anamosa, IA 52205.
The family would like to thank Lillian's 'Extended Family": Jo Dunlop, Linda Reicks, Sharon Burrows and Margaret Grant, who all loved and cared for her. Also, the wonderful staff of Keystone Cedars and Hiawatha Care Center.
HER HANDS ARE FINALLY AT REST.
Online condolences may be directed to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under Obituaries.
Daily Newsletters