Mark E. Carl - 1960 - 2019

Mark Eugene Carl passed away of an apparent heart attack April 1, 2019, at his home in Hollis, Alaska. He was 58 years old.  The sixth of eight children, Mark was born June 10, 1960, in McMinnville, Oregon, to John A. Carl and Gloria (Swanson) Carl.  He graduated from McMinnville High School, where he played football. His love of the game of football, in particular the Green Bay Packers, was something he was passionate about his whole life. He grew up going to St. James Catholic Church in McMinnville and was a member of St. John by the Sea Catholic Church in Klawock, Alaska.
Mark worked in Montana in the early 1980s, but soon followed his three brothers to Alaska. He worked for Ketchikan Pulp Company in Thorne Bay as a boom-boat operator during the boom days of logging in the 1980s. After the logging industry slowed down, he went to work for his sister Trish and brother-in-law Cleve Wright in Talent, Oregon, at their process serving business. He then returned to Alaska and worked at Craig City School District in the maintenance department and driving a bus. He later worked for Head Start, driving a bus for the preschoolers. The kids loved “Mr. Mark." He knew them all by name and told them some of his most entertaining stories while driving the bus.
Mark was known for his great stories, his retelling of sports trivia and his easy laugh. There was nobody more fun to watch a football game with than Mark. His other great love was fishing. He spent many, many hours fishing with his brothers and friends. He was extremely superstitious and did not allow bananas on the boat, sang special songs ("I’m a Believer" by the Monkees) to catch fish and tried all sorts of lures and bait in order to outfish everyone else. Even if he didn’t get the biggest fish, his stories told something different.
Mark was greatly loved by his family. He will be greatly missed by his mother, Gloria Carl; sisters, Mary (Tony) Hook, Joan (Dean) Koch, and Sue Price, all of McMinnville, Oregon; sister, Trish (Cleve) Wright of Santa Rosa, California; and brothers, Joe (Debbie) Carl and Doug (Kerrie) Carl of Prince of Wales Island. He was preceded in death by his father, John A. Carl; and brother, Johnny Carl.
Mark's service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 23, at St. James Catholic Church in McMinnville. A potluck will follow from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the American Legion in McMinnville. A memorial in Alaska will be held later in the spring.