Richard (Dick) Carlson, age 80, of Wichita, Kansas died Tuesday, July 6, 2021. He was born June 29, 1941, in Hibbing, Minnesota. The son of Uno Carlson and Edna (Lassila) Wirkkula and stepfather William (Bill) Wirkkula, Jr.
Dick was a retired Senior Design Engineer from Beech. He was actively involved in skeet and sporting clays. He was an exceptionally talented gunsmith and woodworker. Along with being a die-hard Minnesota Vikings fan he loved listening to music especially Emmylou Harris, volunteering at the Sedgwick County Zoo, and he loved hunting and fishing in his home state of Minnesota. He served in the United States Airforce with the 69th Munitions Maintenance Squadron-Strategic Air Command as a nuclear weapons technician from 1961 to 1965.
He was preceded in death by his parents and stepfather. He is survived by his wife Charlotte; Daughter Krysti (John) Carlson-Goering of Derby, KS; daughter Kelly Klote and grandson Anthony of Lee's Summit, MO; stepson Kevin (Leisa) Downs, Ponca City, OK and step-grandchildren Garrett Downs, Ponca City, OK and Morgan Downs Phoenix, AZ; siblings Robert Wirkkula of Golden Valley, MN; Ron (JoAnn) Wirkkula, Hibbing, MN; Nancy Wickstrom, Hibbing, MN; nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, July 14 , 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Old Mission Mortuary, 3424 E. 21st St., Wichita, KS with funeral service being held on Thursday, July 15 at 10:30 a.m. Burial to follow at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, 1806 N Oliver Ave, Wichita, KS. In lieu of flowers donations can be mailed to: Sedgwick County Extension Education Foundation, Inc., Attn: Richard Carlson – 4H Shooting Sports Memorial, 7001 W. 21st St. N., Wichita, KS 67205, checks made payable to the Extension Education Foundation, Inc.