Carlton H. Fletcher

Carlton Holmes Fletcher, 83, of Clinton, passed away peacefully at his home on the morning of Tuesday, March 25, 2025.

Memorial Services will be Monday, March 31, at 2:00 p.m. at Elim Free Lutheran Church in Clinton with Pastor David Tonn officiating.

Following the service, military honors will be provided by the Campbell Williams American Legion Post 258 of Clinton at the Clinton City Cemetery.

Visitation will be Monday one hour prior to the service at the church.

Carlton was born January 1, 1942 in Graceville, MN, the son of Carl and Agnes (Holm) Fletcher. He grew up on the family farm west of Clinton and graduated from Clinton High School in 1959. In 1961, Carlton joined the US Air Force and served 3 years in Germany at Sembach Airbase, during which time he had the opportunity to see much of Europe. He was very proud of his service and loved our country. Carlton was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1964.

Carlton had a special love for horses, especially Arabians, but loved all animals. After his military service, Carlton attended a trade school for farriers in Sturgis, SD to master his skills of horseshoeing. He spent many years caring for horses, his own and others, and living the cowboy life.

In 1972, Carlton married Lorraine Arlene Dalberg at Milbank, SD. Two children were born to this union, Roy Carlton in 1973, and Tara Lyn in 1978.

Carlton enjoyed spending much of his time outdoors, including hunting, gardening, and planting hundreds, or likely thousands of trees throughout his lifetime. He had a large vegetable garden, that had been downsized some in recent years, but he still kept it going despite his declining health. Carlton was a man of many hats, a taxidermist, real estate appraiser, farmer, hunter, fisherman, and always displayed a desire to fix what's broken rather than throwing it away.

Carlton always looked forward to the annual elk hunting trips to Colorado with Roy and friends from 1998 to 2010. He enjoyed the camaraderie, story-telling, and scenery as much or more than the hunt itself.

In 2007, Carlton and Lorraine became the proud grandparents of Brayden James Carl Fletcher, son of Roy and Shannon. It was easy to see that Brayden meant the world to Carlton, and Carlton meant the world to Brayden. All of Carlton's favorite things in life will live on through Brayden for many years to come, as they shared many common interests.

Carlton is preceded in death by his parents, Carl and Agnes, numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, including cousin and cousin-in-law, Evelyn and Orin Sanders, sisters-in-law, Mavis Osterman, Joanne Roth, Bev Vig, Elaine Griggs, brothers-in-law, Harold Dalberg, Howard Roth, Virgil Kaufman, Phil Peterson, Keith Kelly, Roderick Hornseth, and Dale Fitzner.

Carlton is survived by his wife, Lorraine; his children, Roy (Shannon) Fletcher and Tara Fletcher; grandchildren, Melissa (Jeremy) Gardner, Joseph Bendixen, and Brayden Fletcher; great-grandchildren, Riley and Easton; brother, Bob; sister, Karen Fitzner; sisters-in-law, Ardes (Jerry) Bybee, Gail Kelly, Connie (Kermit) Anderson, and Melissa Dalberg; brothers-in-law, Dennis Vig, Norman (Kathy) Dalberg, Darwin Osterman, and Brad Griggs; close cousin, David (Karen) Sanders; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.