We are deeply saddened to share – our beloved son and brother passed away on Oct. 11, 2023.
Carson was a ray of light. A light that shone brightly as a very young boy growing up on Bainbridge Island. He excelled at sports, playing quarterback for the BIHS football team as well as varsity basketball. Carson’s deepest passion was his music. He wrote in a college application, “When I was a kid, I would dance in front of family company, trying to entertain. I started doing piano and trying to play instruments. Then in high school I began writing lyrics nonstop. Before I went to bed, during class, after practice — writing lyrics became an everyday thing.” As Carson’s poetic lyrics took shape, he soon added rhythmic beats, spending hours on his soundboard.
Born in Portland, Oregon, Carson moved with his family to Bainbridge Island in the fall of 2000 attending Wilkes Elementary and graduating from Bainbridge High School in 2011. Carson’s soul was by nature sensitive. He enjoyed people. He listened to their concerns and needs. He discovered a gift for supporting and leading people, working in sales, and managing a retail sporting goods store. By the fall of 2019 he said he wanted a fresh start and moved to San Diego to be closer to his dad. In San Diego he began his next career as a healthcare recruiter. He specialized in recruiting nurses to work on the front line of the COVID pandemic. His family marveled at his kind and supportive voice as he spoke with the nurses he enlisted to serve.
In 2020, Carson began his tragic journey with mental illness which gradually took over his creative mind and loving heart. For three years, Carson courageously confronted the ravages of psychosis, but never lost touch with his family. In the end, the devastating disease of mental illness took his life.
A graveside service was held for Carson in San Diego, California, on October 19. He is buried next to his adoring grandmother, Margie Zajonc. A public celebration of Carson’s life will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 26, at Grace Episcopal Church on Bainbridge Island, Washington. Please join family and his many friends, to celebrate and remember our dear Carson.
Carson wrote hundreds of songs. One of the last songs he wrote is titled “Love.” He wrote,
“Let me tell ya a little thing ‘bout love
Faith in yourself is a must
Gotta stay down to come up
Cause it’s all for the love
All for the love
And you can’t ignore it”
We will always cherish your light Carson. Your spirit, now resting in peace, will never, ever leave us. We love you.
Carson is survived by his father, Ed Zajonc of San Diego, his mother, Donna Zajonc of Bainbridge Island, his sisters, Morgan Zajonc of Portland, Oregon and McKenzie Zajonc of Kingston, Washington and her husband, Bill, niece Charley, and nephew, Huck. If you wish, you may donate in Carson’s name to Bainbridge Youth Services. You may post photos and messages on his memory board. https://rb.gy/b3qc6
