Craig William Carlson

life story

Respected and loved by many

About Craig

Craig Carlson, 61, passed away on June 25, 2026, after a sudden and short battle with cancer. He died while in hospice at his brother's home in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.

Craig was born on May 9, 1965, in Bethesda, Maryland, to Dorothy and William Carlson. When he was four years old, his family moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where they lived for four and a half years before returning to his parents' home state of Minnesota and settling in Fridley.

Craig spent his childhood and high school years in Fridley, where he enjoyed building with LEGOs, immersing himself in science fiction of every kind, designing electronic gadgets, and keeping pet snakes with his brother, Daren, and best friend, Pete.

In 1980 at age 15, Craig purchased an Apple II+ computer for $1200 using money he saved up from his paper route. That purchase set the stage for a successful and highly respected career in computing. While still in high school, he taught himself BASIC and machine language programming. At just 16 years old, he was hired as a programmer at the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC), where one of his projects was the iconic educational game The Oregon Trail.

Craig earned a degree in Computer Science from St. Cloud State University in 1989 and quickly established himself in the field. After finishing university, Craig had several gigs, including working on the ETA-10, one of the world’s most advanced supercomputers at the time. One of his jobs was to help improve weather prediction models. As the Internet and World Wide Web began to emerge, Craig recognized their tremendous potential, and his talents found an ideal home.

Craig was more than an exceptional programmer. He possessed a deep understanding of the underlying architecture of computers and networks and recognized the importance of developing the standards that would allow systems around the world to communicate seamlessly. Although he was fluent in at least ten programming languages, his career evolved beyond writing software to shaping the technologies and standards that made modern networking and large-scale data storage possible.

In many ways, the ability to access and read this tribute today exists because of the technological foundation Craig helped lay. He earned widespread respect throughout the industry while chairing numerous Fibre Channel and other networking and data storage standards efforts. During his distinguished career, he worked for ANCOR Communications, QLogic Corporation, Cavium Inc., Marvell Semiconductor, and AMD.

As a friend and colleague wrote shortly after his death, “Craig belonged to that rare class of engineer whose influence extended far beyond any single company. His work became part of the industry’s foundation.” This is a sentiment echoed loudly by Craig’s contemporary peers in the industry.

Although his work was his greatest professional passion, Craig embraced life well beyond technology. He loved photography, biking, Jeep off-roading, camping, canoeing, stand-up comedy, and listening to “quality” music of every genre. He also produced an independent film. Craig’s career took him to destinations around the world, and wherever he traveled, he usually managed to find some fun on the side. Friends and colleagues enjoyed his brilliance, insight, dry wit, and steady presence.

Craig's life was cut far too short, but those who knew him take comfort in knowing that he lived a life filled with curiosity, accomplishment, and adventure. He leaves behind not only a legacy of technical innovation, but also the respect, admiration, and friendship of countless colleagues, friends, and family members whose lives he touched.

Craig is preceded in death by his parents, William and Dorothy Carlson. He is survived by his brother, Daren Carlson; his sister-in-law, Barbora Carlson; and his nieces, Izabela and Natalia Carlson.

memorial service

Celebration of Craig's Life

August 1, 2026

Pilgrim House Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 1212 Hwy 96 W, Arden Hills, MN 55112, USA

For those who can not attend in person, the ceremony will be available for online attendance at:

https://meet.google.com/jbi-zimf-wjw

Ceremony begins at 2 pm.