Baker City, Oregon
Carl J. Williams, 86, of Baker City, died Dec. 21, 2003, at St. Elizabeth Health Services.
Friends are invited to join the family for the praying of the rosary, at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Francis de Sales Cathedral, First and Church streets. Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the cathedral. The Rev. Rob Irwin will officiate. Graveside inurnment will be later at Prineville’s Juniper Haven Cemetery.
Carl was born at Monroe, N.H., on Oct. 16, 1917, to Carl J. and Luella Williams. He grew up at McIndoe Falls, Vt. He worked in the family sawmill until his marriage to Rita F. Lymburner of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Oct. 17, 1942.
The couple then moved to Burlington, Vt., where they had two daughters. Beverly Ann was born on Jan. 9, 1944, and Rita Sandra was born on March 4, 1945. Rita died on June 16, 2002. The family lived at Burlington until they moved west in 1956.
Living in the West had been a lifelong dream for Carl, an avid outdoorsman. A dedicated fly fisherman who tied his own flies, Carl, along with his family, would trek miles to find the perfect spot in the perfect trout stream or lake.
His idea of heaven was to spend the day with his beloved wife, Rita, paddling his Oldtown canoe on a high mountain lake under a blue sky in the wilderness. In fact, he often referred to the woods as his church.
Carl was also a talented artist, writer and poet. He most admired Vermont poet Robert Frost. Carl’s writings and journals remain a rich and poetic legacy for his family. His other interest was music. He played guitar until sustaining a serious hand injury in 1985.
A registered architect in the states of Oregon and Washington, Carl designed numerous buildings, both public and private, as well as participating with other architects on projects primarily in Oregon.
He first worked in architecture in California and then moved to Salem in 1965. He and Rita moved to the Bend/Prineville area in 1979. Carl was in private practice there until he moved to Baker City from Prineville in 1999 when he retired from architecture.
One of his last projects was a remodel and handicapped addition to St. Joseph’s Catholic Church at Prineville where he and his wife were parishioners.
Carl will be remembered by his family for his utter commitment to them, his smile and sense of humor and his immense and unstinting generosity to his fellow human beings. A non-judgmental man with a ready ear to listen and counsel, Carl was always there to lend a helping hand at the drop of a hat. His loss to his family will be as immeasurable as will be heaven’s gain.
“I’m sure, Dad, that you’re dropping a fly in heaven’s most beautiful stream as I write this – Good fishing!” his daughter said.
Survivors include his wife of 61 years, Rita, his daughter, Beverly Higley, and his grandson, Leon Higley, all of Baker City; nephews, Michael Williams of Salem and Robert Davis of Rehoboth, Mass.; and nieces, Denise Williams of Milton, Wash., Christine Jacobsen of Salem, and Mary Hanson of Sunriver; and cousins in Vermont.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Eastern Oregon Chapter of the Red Cross through Gray’s West & Co., P.O. Box 726, Baker City, OR 97814.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, January 9, 2004
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor