Lind Karlsen, 87

Lind B. Karlsen was born July 23, 1936, to Frithjof and Borghild Karlsen in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and passed away Jan. 12, 2024, in Arlington, Va., at the age of 87. 

Lind grew up in a house his grandfather built at 923 Fifth St. in Coeur d’Alene, where he had a very happy childhood with his loving parents and his sister, Louise, always surrounded by music. 

Lind’s grandparents were the founding members of Trinity Lutheran Church in Coeur d’Alene in the early 1900s, and his family was always involved in maintaining the church and choosing the pastors. Lind was baptized there and grew up in the church under the care of multiple pastors, including Pastor Ostroot. Lind used to play trumpet in the bell tower of the church early on Easter Sunday morning and on Christmas Eve. Deep religious convictions stayed with Lind throughout his life. Lind was always philanthropic and had genuine concerns and compassion for others. 

As a child, Lind won the Champion Salesman award for the Spokesman-Review. Lind started to play in the high school orchestra and band and was the youngest member of both groups. He played instruments most of his life, including his years at the university — baritone horn, piano, trombone, trumpet, etc., and had a great love of music — classical, opera, oratorios, musicals and the like. He graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School in 1954 and earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from Pacific Lutheran University in 1958.

In the 1970s, Lind started ballroom dancing, studying diligently with world-class champions. He danced competitively until the early 1990s, accumulating a houseful of trophies from competitions. Lind excelled in international standards, i.e. Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Quickstep and Viennese Waltz. He placed quite well in major competitions, including the U.S. National Amateur Ballroom Dance Championships, Ohio Star Ball, Virginia State Championships and Italian Open. Lind was known among his fellow dancers to be an excellent dancer with a droll sense of humor.

In 1999, Lind met his wife, Yoshiko, at a dance studio in Monterey, Calif., and again at a gym of the Defense Language Institute (DLI) where they both worked. They were married Feb. 7, 2001. Lind taught her how to dance, and they enjoyed ballroom dancing and walking together until a few weeks before he passed away.

He worked as a mathematician at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and as a systems analyst at various private and government agencies including IBM, NASA and DLI, from which he retired in 2003 to accompany wife Yoshiko to Japan for her diplomatic assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, where they lived from 2003 to 2023. 

Lind always had a quiet yet special kind of demeanor that was so radiant and charming that he was one of the few guests with whom the then-Japanese Emperor and Empress personally spotted, approached, exchanged a few words and shook hands. This happened not only at the Emperor’s 2014 Garden Party, but also at the Emperor’s 2017 Garden Party, both of which Lind and Yoshiko were invited to as U.S. diplomats to Japan. Yoshiko’s family in Japan adored Lind.

Lind is survived by his wife, Yoshiko; his sister, Louise Lidicker; and his nephews, Gerry and Russ DeLonzor. He was predeceased by his nieces, Gwen and Diana DeLonzor.

Lind will be forever loved and greatly missed by his wife, Yoshiko, his sister, Louise, and family in California, Yoshiko’s family in Japan and the lives he touched. 

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Lind’s name may be made to Hillsdale College (www.hillsdale.edu).

The funeral service for Lind will be Thursday, Feb. 1, at 11 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church at 812 N. Fifth St. in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The interment will be at Forest Cemetery. Arrangements are provided by Yates Funeral Home. www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.