Lisa P. Carlson passed away on January 17, 2009. She was 54.
The Houston, Texas native and Shell executive is survived by three children; son Trei Brundrett, his wife, Danielle, and their two sons, Aedan and Joseph, all of Alexandria, Virginia; daughter Caitlin Carlson of Austin, Texas; and son Christian Carlson of The Woodlands, Texas. Also a brother, Miles Purdom of Austin, Texas; and a sister-in-law, Lori Purdom, and niece, Kay-lyn Purdom, both of Bandera, Texas; as well as ex-husbands Carl Carlson of Bentonville, Arkansas and Noble Brundrett of Kenedy, Texas.
Lisa is also survived by step-mother Joan Purdom of Conroe Texas; an aunt, Cine Latham and cousin Beau Latham, both of Tucson, Arizona; step-brother John Strasburger, wife Pam and children Samantha and Jack, of Houston; and numerous second cousins residing in Texas and Arizona. She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Don and Billie Purdom of Conroe Texas, and her brother, Rob Purdom of Santa Ynez, California.
Lisa P. Carlson was born Lisa Jan Purdom on September 8, 1954 in San Angelo, Texas. She was the second of three children and moved with her family to the Spring Branch area of Houston as a young girl. The family then moved from Houston to Cut-n-Shoot, Texas where Lisa attended and graduated from Conroe High School. She enrolled in Texas A&M University where she majored in business and she graduated from The University of Texas in San Antonio with a degree in Marketing.
While Lisa enjoyed a successful and energizing career life, her joy and love was her children, grandchildren, and family. She would spend hours planning special dinners, events and surprises for birthday and holiday celebrations. She especially enjoyed leading people to believe nothing was to occur beyond the ordinary, then unveiling the extraordinary to the delight of all. Trickery was a hidden talent she loved to deploy on her family, loved ones and colleagues at the office. There was no greater delight and no bigger laugh than when Lisa had completely surprised someone with the unexpected.
Lisa created and lived many special memories with her children. She planned one-on-one vacations and breaks with each of her children, traveling to special sights of interest, beaches, the mountains, international cities and beyond, to spend time learning about new and unique loves of her children or to simply rediscover the quality of having time together. Some of her favorite times were touring college and university campuses with Trei and Caitlin and going to gaming tournaments with Christian. From Seattle to the Carolinas to London; from Austin to Boston, it often appeared that Lisa were the child, there to meet, greet, and learn about the experience – it was her time of youth again. She loved to challenge her children and engaged them to be not just the best at what they wanted to do, but to be the best people they could be. It was a mantra she strived for in her own life. Lisa shared a truly special relationship with her grandmother, Ella Purdom, and the two experienced the richness of life for many years before Ella passed away, still young-at-heart at the age of 102.
Lisa’s career spanned three decades. She successfully juggled time at the office and meetings with time at the PTA or in the kitchen. Her friends, family, and colleagues would tell you she was the original multi-tasker, in and out of the home.
Lisa had held various positions in marketing and consulting within Royal Dutch Shell since 1997. She was most recently Global Director of Marketing for Shell Fast Lubes. Her leadership role dictated international travel that took her to storybook destinations in China, Europe, Australia and Latin America. She contributed to highly successful merger and acquisition activity, business and brand development initiatives and both strategic marketing and advertising programs in over 8 countries. Her love for her work was most often manifested in the way she mentored and helped others grow to achieve their own career dreams. Time and time again, colleagues would hear Lisa’s name associated with executives and managers whose careers she helped advance through her insightful coaching and organizational skills. While assigned to Shell People Services in London, she led the creation of Shell’s European Women’s Forum, which was voted the top program of its kind in Europe in 2003. Her passionate activism for the advancement of women at Shell is well-documented throughout her success in every role – and every challenge – she accepted.
Immediately prior to joining Shell, Lisa led PowerBase Marketing, a joint-venture database segmentation marketing company created by Lisa and LarkinMeeder&Schweidel in Dallas, Texas. Before that, she was Vice President for Marketing of Community Credit Union in Plano as well as marketing manager for the merger/acquisition group of NCNB-Texas in Dallas.
One highlight of Lisa’s career life came while in San Antonio, where she was Director of Marketing for the 1776 Inc. restaurant company. Not only was she a key leader in the growth and development of this innovative organization, she also presided over the San Antonio chapter of the American Marketing Association. Her leadership qualities were showcased when the chapter’s work garnered national attention, achieving National Chapter of the Year recognition. During her time in San Antonio, Lisa also held marketing positions in finance, data management and TV and film production. At the time of her passing, she had been serving as a Board Director for the UTSA Alumni Association.
Lisa lived both vibrantly and actively, enjoying life to its fullest extent. Friends and family will forever miss her spontaneity, infectious laughter and the strong-willed spirit that enabled her to succeed in both her personal and professional lives. She was very much her ‘own person’ and a personification of what Robert Louis Stevenson meant when he said…