Carl Webster Wickstrom

Dr. Carl Webster Wickstrom passed away on January 2,2023, at the age of 78. He was born in Munising, Michigan on December 3, 1944, to the late George Berger Wickstrom, MD and Edith Ann (Webster) Wickstrom and was brother to Helen Ruth Conklin and the late Carole Jean Wallace and Paul Webster Wickstrom.

Dr. Carl Webster Wickstrom earned his Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1966, with Honors and and his Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Chemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1970. He was a US Army veteran having served at the Natick Laboratories during the Vietnam War as a Technical Specialist and was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and First Award, Special Act Award, Army Commendation Medal. From 1972 - 1982 he was Scientist at Polaroid, 1982 - 2001 he worked in Quality Control and as a Senior Analytical Methods Development Chemist at ChemDesign. He was listed as a noteworthy Analytical Chemist by Marquis Who’s Who and worked in drug discovery until 2011.

On June 17, 1973, he was wed to Rosemary Else (Buckley) Wickstrom of Wakefield, Massachusetts and they shared 43 years of devoted marriage. For ten years he cared for Rosemary while she had early onset dementia. He is survived by his loving daughter Natica Else Buckley Wickstrom.

Carl was a lifelong musician who played the lead alto saxophone from his early teens. He was a longtime member of The Suburbanaires and in 1998 he joined the Dick Donovan Big Band, and in 2005 the Steve Taddeo Big Band also playing with the Swing Senders Band. Carl was known for being a featured soloist, especially playing the lead alto saxophone in Ray Noble’s 1939 jazz standard, Cherokee. William A. (Bill) Sharp’s band founded in 1986 was led by Carl since 2018 as the Mad Bavarians German Band and also the Great American Brass Band where he played clarinet. Carl was a Master Mason at the Golden Rule Lodge and was organist at multiple Masonic Lodges in Massachusetts including the Philanthropic Lodge A.F. & A.M. He was also an Aleppo Chanter at the Aleppo Shrine and a member of The Kilwinning Club of Boston. A pipe organist, he was a member of the American Guild of Organists and also played the flute. Now, Carl plays in the Heavenly Big Band.

Carl was also a member of the choir at his church, Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He loved to garden and was an avid genealogist.

Burial of Dr. Carl Webster Wickstrom will be at Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, 185 Lake Street, Peabody, MA 01960 at 11:00 AM on Friday, January 13th. A memorial service celebrating Dr. Carl Webster Wickstrom’s life will take place on Saturday, January 14th at 11:00 AM at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 5 Bryant Street, Wakefield, MA 01880. All friends are welcome.