Carleton (Connie) Allan Wold was born in Sioux City, Iowa on January 31, 1930, and passed away surrounded by his family on January 14, 2020 at Overland Court Senior Living in Boise, Idaho.
Connie grew up with his parents and two older sisters who adored him and who were proud of all his accomplishments. Growing up, Connie developed a love of learning and a passion for the movies. Any opportunity he got was spent at movie theaters, sometimes all day. In his early life in Sioux City he had a pony and loved to play at being a cowboy. He still kept and cherished his first cap gun from those days. The Great Depression interrupted his childhood, forcing the family to give up their trucking business and home, and go to northern Minnesota where they lived with relatives. Eventually, they built a small house near a pond in Bear River, Minnesota. The house had no indoor plumbing and the Minnesota winters were brutal.
Connie attended school in Togo with his best friend, Bud. He graduated top of his class and received the Bausch and Lomb Science Scholarship to continue his studies. Even with the offer of a scholarship he was never able to attain his dream of a college education. Instead, he went to work in 1948 as a laboratory helper in the Product Development Department of a Wood Conversion company in Cloquet, Minnesota. It was during this time that he met his future wife, Laurie, and took the path of husband and, eventually, father of nine children.
Over the next thirteen years he rose to the position of Senior Lab Technologist in the Acoustical Product Development department. During this time Connie developed a series of acoustical treatments designed to reduce the noise level within various manufacturing operations. This noise reduction also reduced the occupational noise level to which employees were exposed. His innovative work was published in several trade magazines. In 1964, while living in International Falls, Minnesota, Boise Cascade Corporation of Boise bought the company Connie was working for and in 1966 the family was transferred to Boise. Because of Connie’s efforts to control and reduce employee noise exposure in the workplace he was chosen by the U.S. Department of Labor to be one of fifteen persons to develop an Occupational Safety and Health Administration procedure for the reduction of workplace noise. In 1974 he began his own consulting business and worked in the Accident Prevention/Loss Control area until his retirement in 1997. Retirement was very short lived. He missed the workplace and in 1998 took a job with the Idaho State Bar as an Investigator/Paralegal. His technical background and his eye for detail made him a perfect match for his new career. He retired for the second time in 2006.
Connie was a member of the United States Naval Reserve for eleven years from 1947 to 1958, receiving an Honorable Discharge. He served on week-ends at the Wold-Chamberlain naval Air Station in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Connie was a founding member of Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church in Boise, and was elected to several positions, including Council President, Council Secretary, Council Treasurer, Stewardship Director, Fellowship Ministry, and Adult Bible Study teacher.
Connie’s love of family was unconditional throughout his life, and he worked hard to teach that kind of love to his children. He was a very involved dad and grandpa, keeping up on all the latest news, proud of each accomplishment and milestone, always asking if there was anything he could do for us, and reminded us after every visit to “drive careful.”
During a recent, large family gathering, Connie spoke about the importance of remembering and keeping notes of our personal history. He told us to write things down so our children and grandchildren would know our history. Connie had excellent recall of his own experiences, and always seemed to have a new memory he wanted to share. Last year, with the help of the Keystone staff, Connie wrote a collection of stories and memories entitled With a Song in My Heart. He was extremely proud to be able to give each of us a copy and it is a cherished keepsake. This past Christmas, he asked the Keystone staff to help him give each of his children a gift. Connie had written Christmas poems each year, from 1969 to 2015, and he had volunteers compile them into binders and wrap them as Christmas presents. He was so excited to be able to keep this gift a secret and give them out at Christmas.
Connie’s sense of humor was legendary. He was always making us laugh, sometimes with just a look. He was incredibly quick-witted, a great story teller, and could use humor to help make bad days better. But mostly he just liked to see us laugh.
Connie also loved to travel and was always up for a new adventure. He traveled to many places throughout the United States, but especially loved Cody, Wyoming, Disneyworld, Hawaii, and visits back to Minnesota. With his passion for anything aviation related, the Reno Air Shows were among his favorite events to attend. He was also able to visit the beaches of Normandy, cruise to Alaska and Mexico, and take road trips to Canada.
Among his favorite hobbies, which he gladly shared with his children and grandchildren, was collecting books and films on World War II, all kinds of movies and television. He also had a gun collection, was a lifelong member of the NRA, and loved to go out target shooting and hunting with family members.
Connie is survived by his children Deb (Skip) Knox, Rick (Jane) Wold, Tim (Kathy) Wold, Dick Wold, Julene (Troy) Ailshie, Rob (Diana) Wold, Karla Wold, Karen Densley, and foster daughter Desi Tucker; and 22 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild due this summer.
He was preceded in death by his parents Anna and Carl, his sisters Aileen and Irene, son Mark (Sandy Murin), daughter-in-law Danni Wold, son-in-law Shon Densley, and his beloved wife Laurie (2017), with whom he shared 66 years of marriage.
The family wishes to give its heartfelt thanks to Overland Court Senior Living and to Keystone Hospice for their loving support during this difficult time.
A family memorial will be held in the spring in Cascade, Idaho where Connie’s ashes will be joined with Laurie’s ashes and scattered across the mountains they both loved so much.