Obituary: Stephen Thomas Carlson, 1945-2024 

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• Courtesy
• Stephen Carlson

Steve Carlson died on July 8, 2024, at the age of 78. He chose to remain comfortable at home, with care provided from his family, friends and caregivers from the University of Vermont Home Health and Hospice.

Stephen Thomas Carlson was born on October 15, 1945, in Minneapolis, Minn., to parents Mary Jane Smith and Albion M. Gray. He grew up in various towns in Minnesota and Wisconsin before moving to Cabot, Vt., with his family in 1960. He graduated from Cabot High School in 1963 as salutatorian and received a bachelor's degree from the University of Vermont in 1967. He studied communication theory at the University of Minnesota from 1967 to1968, where he also taught courses in that subject.

Steve’s remarkable career included positions as a disc jockey and newscaster at a commercial radio station in Burlington, while still an undergraduate student at UVM; lecturer in speech and communication at University of Minnesota; and capital bureau chief for the Burlington Free Press from 1970-1975, covering statewide Vermont news, politics and state government. He was the manager of James Jeffords' successful campaign to represent Vermont in the U.S. Congress in 1973 and legislative policy assistant to Jeffords from 1976-1987.

He was the cofounder (with his wife Lisa Carlson), publisher and chief editor of Upper Access in Hinesburg, Vt., which operated for nearly 35 years and published primarily nonfiction books. For many years, he served on the board and was executive director of the Independent Book Publishers Association of New England. He also authored the 1989 title, Your Low-Tax Dream House. Later in life, Steve and his recently departed wife, Lisa (Brackett) Carlson, provided much-needed respite care for teenage foster kids.

Steve was a gentle, compassionate human being, with a dry wit that could make one laugh at the most unexpected times. He could carry on a conversation about any subject, ranging from books, news, and politics to music, art, and anime. He was an intellectual with a great appreciation for modern pop culture and a long-standing wish for world peace. He was a wonderful father, grandfather and brother; he will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

He is survived by his children, Joshua Carlson, Rosalie Carlson, Joie Brackett-Reeve, and Shawn Brackett, and his siblings, Peter Gray, Bernard Carlson, Fredrick Carlson and Priscilla Gray.

Steve’s body was donated to the University of Vermont Anatomical Gift Program and was transported by Stephen C. Gregory & Son.