Nov. 12, 1934 – July 6, 2024
Carl was born in Lansing, Michigan, where he lived his entire life until relocating to Washington State in 2022 to be closer to family. By the end of his spectacular life, he’d outlived three brothers and two sisters. He will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 60 years, Joyce, his three daughters, Susan, Linda, and Glenna, his grandchildren, a large extended family, and a countless number of friends.
To say that Carl was a loving man would be a glaring understatement. To him, every stranger was a friend; his neighbors were like family; and his family was the sun around which his life revolved. He loved fiercely but gently; intently but warmly. He was always quick to answer the unmistakable call of a neighbors’ chainsaw and would be out with his plow after the first few inches of snowfall.
When he shook your hand, it stayed shook. When he hugged you, you stayed held. Saying goodbye, he often wept as though he’d never see you again. Whether he loved you or was proud of you, he never left a shred of doubt. Carl could not help but show all who entered his orbit the tremendously warm and gentle heart beating inside his big barrel chest.
Carl was a lifelong outdoorsman, hunter, and fisherman. He shot competitively for 50 years, was a lifetime member of the NRA, and after 25 years of teaching hunter’s safety, he probably taught more people how to properly handle a firearm than the U.S. Army. He was an avid camper, creating cherished memories with his wife and daughters, as they explored national parks across the country. He was a traveler, visiting 49 of the 50 states, many overland in his fifth wheel, alongside his lovingly devoted navigator, an assortment of maps and guidebooks piled on her lap. And, he was a lifelong singer, a gift he generously shared with those he loved, as a member of Lansing’s “Men of Orpheus” choir for 21 years, and as a member of the “Woodland Warblers,” a group he started at the Woodland Retirement Community in Lacey.
He had a long career with Consumer Energy, but self-identified as a meat cutter, a job he did prior to that, with great joy, for 17 years. He was a self-taught woodworker, creating a large assortment of unique, beautiful pieces that will remind their owners of his attentiveness, skill, and creativity for many years to come. Over the course of his life, Carl also collected some 700 unique knives and a number of firearms, which, like every tool in his workshop, he scrupulously maintained. Above all, he was a man who took care of things — of people, of his family.
Carl’s absence will be felt by everyone who knew him; the bigger the life, the bigger the hole it will leave when it ends. To say that he will be remembered is, too, an understatement. For he will be with us always.
