Duane Carlson ’55

Duane Carlson ’55, a pioneer in developing and promoting ways for all Americans to achieve and maintain healthy lifestyles, died Aug. 4, 2022, at age 89.

For more than 20 years Carlson used his platform as vice president of national communications for Blue Cross and Blue Shield to focus Americans’ attention on the role of diet, exercise, stress management, the environment, and other personal behaviors on their health and fitness. He joined the national office of Blue Cross in 1966, where he created the focus on healthy lifestyles, a discipline that rarely, if ever, had been formalized by a healthcare organization. He developed a series of books and multimedia programming aimed at helping millions of Americans. He worked with the President’s Council on Fitness and Sports and the U.S. Olympic Committee, testified before House and Senate committees, served on the National Health Council and the Ad Council, and worked with TV personality Fred Rogers. 

Carlson was a highly engaged Cornell student—a Milt, Cornellian editor, Oratorio singer, intramural player, Husk and KRNL participant, and holder of the Men’s Senate key—and he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in English and sociology.

He and his wife and classmate, Ann Holcomb Carlson ’55, hosted many, many Cornell events for alumni and students in Chicago. He received a Cornell College Leadership and Service Award in 2015. Carlson is survived by his wife of 67 years, daughter Pam (married to Dale Carhill ’85), son Steve, three grandchildren, and a brother.