Services for Susan will be held Saturday, Jan 24th at 1 pm at Turning Point Church in Lemmon, SD. The service will be at 1 followed by a luncheon and fellowship downstairs, private burial.

Susan Belle Carlson, gestated 18 weeks, passed into the arms of Jesus January 17th, 2026 at Sanford hospital in Bismarck, ND. Though she was only in the world for four months, she was adored by her parents, Jon and Dorothy Carlson, and her sisters, Vivian and Leisel, and prayed for by countless friends and family. The following was written by her mother the day she was born.

'If you cried, I would pick you up. If you nuzzled, I would feed you. If you called me, I would be there.

I wait. But you don't cry. My body waits for your cry. But that first little wail never will come.

I know this. And yet it is too hard to let you go. Even though you were with Jesus before I even saw your little face.

You have my nose. You have his lips. You have your big sister's eyes. Maybe you would have had your other sister's smile; I feel like you would have.

But I won't see you smile. Not till I get to heaven and finally hold you. The real you. Not this empty shell I brought into the world long after the life had faded from it.

I know that you're safe. I know that while you were here, you knew only comfort and peace. Maybe your little ears learned the sound of my voice, your daddy's voice. Maybe you felt the vibrations as your sisters ran by and your little legs twitched to join in. Maybe when I finally meet you, the real you, you'll know me.

But for now, I have to wait.

Heaven is brighter with you in it, and the world darker. We'll notice your absence, though we never saw your smile.'

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We chose to give birth to Susan Belle naturally when we lost fetal activity, and held her in our arms for nearly 24 hours before releasing her. Her big sisters came and met her, as did her aunt Sarah and her grandma Becky and Grandpa John. Witnesses to her life and to the surety of our future with Christ, where we will all see her again.

Thank you to all who prayed us through this pregnancy, though it ended far too soon. We don't know why. But we know the character of God; He remains good.

Susan Belle is survived by her parents, Jon and Dorothy Carlson, her sisters, Vivian and Leisel, her grandparents, John and Rebecca Nyberg, her aunts and uncles, Sven Carlson, Jonathan and Evey Nyberg, Sarah Nyberg, Stephen Nyberg, and William Nyberg, her cousins, Jennie, Rachel, Grace, Albin, Johnny, Trina Beth, and Arthur, and her great grandmother Judy, as well as multiple great aunts and uncles.

She was preceded in death by her siblings, Hope and Joseph, her cousin Lil' Sven, and her grandparents, Wilgoth and Gail Carlson.