OBITUARY - Issuu

from Memorial Folder for the Late Carlson Guillet

Carlson Guillet

1996-2023

Carlson Guillet was born prematurely by the world's standards, but in God's perfect timing, on June 11,1996 in Boston, Massachusetts to Joseph and Syriane Guillet. He was the youngest of three children, preceded by his brother, Donald Guillet, by 11 years, and his sister, Joane Etienne (née Guillet), by 7 years. He was raised in a loving multigenerational Christian Haitian household, with his maternal grandmother, Anite Pierre-Louis.

Carlson was self-educated and self-employed. His academic studies and institutional employment gave him foundational training and was a catalyst for meaningful connections. Throughout his academic education, he attended Lena Park Early Education; u Beethoven Elementary; Boston Preparatory Charter School; John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science; and Bunker Hill Community College. Carlson began working in the summer of 2011 as a youth painter at Artist for Humanity, where he eventually developed skills in several forms of visual art. Truly passionate about being an artist, Carlson held various jobs until 2018 when he leaned into his portfolio of talented freelance work, and decided to be an entrepreneur. Around the same time, he moved on from studying towards an Associates Degree in Business, to organizing a catalog of books and online resources for his self-directed studies. Daily and for several years, Carlson studied many things day and night the U.S. market, the legal system, multiple worldviews, the Bible, natural medicine, and more.

While others might be bound by fear or more discerning, Carlson took the approach of being open to everything trying everything at the buffet, to live and tell about the wild journey later. As he experienced and matured, he would make his selection of what was right for him and the person he wanted to be. Still, art, at every stage, remained his consistent mode of expression.

Carlson was very principled. He embodied and exuded all that he believed. Often saying his haiku,

It's not what we know, More so what we do with it, Refrigerator.

In true Carlson fashion, providing food for thought (refrigerator) while cleverly relying on the old haiku "refrigerator" trick to end his poem with a five-syllable word, though his point was complete. Carlson, using the moniker "Haiku," lived out this motto, sprinkled with wit and humor. He sought to know, and once he did, he did everything he could with it.

He believed deeply in the power of people. He believed in his own power to love, heal, and bring peace. As such, he was careful to preserve himself, honoring what was good for his body. He gardened and maintained a mostly organic and plant-based diet, walked, hiked, rode his bike or skateboard, played basketball, practiced Tai Chi and yoga, and meditated. Being self-employed and single, Carlson preserved his right to determine his maximum contribution to any given person or project by his assessment of their worthiness. Carlson was very intentional about what would be on the receiving end of his energy, talent and time. He was never stressed, and always smiling.

He believed in community. He was mentored, and he mentored. He was taught, and he taught. Carlson gave generously of his time to everyone, including strangers. He served many people in various ways, i.e. recording and editing video footage for small businesses and organizations throughout Boston, and sharing his knowledge of business infrastructure and development. He planted in community gardens and supported local farmer's markets. He had bright ideas for elaborate plans to connect bicycling with nature and outdoor art exhibits.

Carlson loved community, but he believed that his greatest contribution would be to his family. He invested much of his intellectual and financial capital in his parents, siblings, brother-in-law, nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles, godbrother and godsisters, and two close friends. His love for them had no limit or boundary. He played with and comforted babies; gathered the kids around blank canvases and guided their art expression; taught a nephew graffiti art and another to ride a bike; organized the family around generational wealth management; gave massages, made medicinal teas, and provided a comforting presence to the sick and elderly.

Carlson was special -- a genuine and tender-hearted "truth-seeker," "free spirit," and "renaissance man." There are no words to sufficiently reflect his light. At 27 years old, his beautiful, joyful, peaceful spirit departed from this world prematurely by the world's standards, but in God's perfect timing, on July 19, 2023.

He is survived by his parents, two older siblings, and maternal grandmother, as well as his brother-in-law, Kennel Etienne; his two nephews Nehemiah E. Don and Elias L. Etienne; two nieces, Aya H. Etienne and Selah A. Etienne; and many other extended family members. In the midst of our heartbreak and sorrow, we thank God for Carlson's life and trust in God's infinite goodness and sovereignty.