Lloyd Donald Carlton, 82, went to sleep in the Lord on Thursday, June 21, 2001 at the VA Hospital in Boise. Lloyd was born Dec. 22, 1918, in Boise, to Jay and Jessie Carlton. He attended schools in Nampa and Boise, and graduated from Boise High School in 1936. For over 60 years Lloyd Carlton taught dancing, coached, directed, sponsored, and encouraged excellence in the field of the performing arts in Idaho. Lloyd gave thousands of hours of service in this field with quiet and continuous effort, asking for no remuneration or recognition. It was his belief that one has an obligation to his community. He worked steadily at bettering the cultural quality of his community since be began performing in the early 1930s while a student at LeCrist School of Dance in Boise. He later studied with the San Francisco Ballet. He began teaching and choreographing as a high school sophomore. Mr. Carlton was a former member of Dance Masters of America and also studied in New York. In 1946, the LeCrist School of Dance became the Carlton Dance Studio. A caring and skillful teacher, Lloyd inspired and enriched the lives of innumerable people with his outstanding character and his high standards. Several of his students have become members of major dance companies, heads of college dance departments, owners and teachers in their own studios, and this state's most active participants and supporters of the arts.
When World War II started, Lloyd joined the Navy and was stationed on the battleship USS Mississippi.
He married Evelyn Zamzow on Feb. 7, 1948. The marriage lasted 21 years, produced 4 sons and ended in divorce.
Lloyd was a lifetime member of the Boise Music Week Board. His participation began with his support of the first Dance Night in 1937. He choreographed over 20 of the musicals. He served on the Music Week Board as president, vice president, treasurer, general chairman, Dance Night chairman, musical director, and choreographer. Lloyd served as president, vice president, treasurer, and chairman of the ticket outlet for The Allied Arts Council. Through the years he was instrumental in bringing major dance companies to all of Idaho. Residents of Idaho have unknowingly benefited from Lloyd's untiring efforts. He was also instrumental in sending guest teachers to small towns, or traveling himself to many areas and giving master classes to both students and teachers. The Boise Schools richly benefited from Lloyd's willingness to give. He began early in his career doing choreography for numerous schools. He worked with the Boise High Thunderbirds and Borah High Lionettes as choreographer and adviser. He also judged the Northwest Drill Team Contest. The State Department of Education called on Lloyd to be a consultant on the preparation of a dance manual for the public schools. In 1987, as director of the Dance Collection, Lloyd's influence reached at least 8000 school children with 32 performances by the Dance Collection. Lloyd was a charter member and major force in creating both the Boise Dance Teachers Association and The Idaho Dance Arts Alliance. He served as president, vice president, and treasurer of both organizations many times. His choreography enhanced productions presented by Boise Opera and the Boise Philharmonic. He coached, choreographed, and judged pageant contestants, the Miss Teen-age America Pageant, the Miss Idaho Pageant and a contestant in the finals of the National Tru-Value Country Showdown in 1992. Lloyd regularly gave free instruction in the grade schools. A longtime member of Tuesday Musicale, Lloyd organized the local dance scholarship program and helped arrange most of the workshops and auditions that were done in conjunction with the Musicale. He also served as the state dance chairman for the organization. His influence on the arts can be found in the thousands of students to whom he has given the joy of dance, and all the people who have been spectators at a performance arranged or choreographed by him. Lloyd was Distinguished Citizen in The Idaho Statesman July 9, 1972, and Mayor Dirk Kempthorne proclaimed April 10, 1987, Lloyd Carlton Day. Lloyd was also an avid fisherman and, as his health would allow, he loved to troll the smooth glasslike waters of Lake Cascade at daybreak. He would occasionally fish for salmon along the Oregon coast. To this loving Father, wonderful caring teacher, fine and gentle man we say "thank you." You will be missed until we are united in the presense of our Lord. We love you and will cherish your memory until we meet again.
Years ago, Glenn Lungren, then vice president of First Security Bank and director of Allied Arts and the Boise Philharmonic Orchestra said, "As far as I'm concerned, Lloyd Carlton IS Dance in Idaho." Lloyd is survived by his four sons, Mark, Gene, Christopher and Jon, all of Boise; and his brother, Ray of Newport, Ore. He had five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews, and long time friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jay and Jessie Carlton; his brothers, Warren, and Neil; and his stepnephew, Gib Hochstrasser.

A celebration of Lloyd's life took place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, at the Cloverdale Funeral Home. For all this man did for his community, his community forgot him. Few except his immediate family attended. A Funeral Mass was celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, June 27, at Holy Apostles Catholic Church, with the Rev. Timothy Ritchey presiding. Burial followed in Morris Hill Cemetery.