Charles Karr

Charles “Chuck” C. Karr

Charles “Chuck” C. Karr, 98, of Machesney Park, IL, passed away Sunday, June 25, 2023. He was born on July 11, 1924, in rural Iberia, MO, to James Elmer and Frances (Kinder) Karr. Chuck grew up on several small farms around Iberia, MO. He graduated from Iberia High School. After high school he worked a short time at Fort Leonard Wood before attending Southwest Baptist College in Bolivar, MO.

In February 1943 he joined the Navy, knowing from his experience at Fort Leonard Wood he did not wish to be in the Army. Chuck completed basic training in Idaho, then radio training, Morse code and shortwave training in Boulder, CO. He then completed Spy Training in Seattle, Washington. During the remaining years of World War II, Chuck was stationed in Castroville, CA, where he intercepted coded Japanese shortwave radio transmissions for decoding in Washington D.C. Chuck had to receive FBI clearance for this assignment. He was discharged in March 1946.

Chuck married Cleora Carol Condra on August 25, 1946, in Tuscumbia, MO. He first met Cle at her father’s barber shop in Iberia and the First Baptist Church of Iberia. Chuck wrote to Cle while in the Navy and dated her when on leave. The couple moved to Chicago, IL, in 1947. They attended Second Baptist Church. Chuck continued his undergraduate education at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where he earned a degree in accounting. They later bought a small shell of a house in Northlake, IL, that Chuck finished and added onto over the years. They began attending Mannheim Baptist Church in Franklin Park, IL, for the next forty years. Chuck continued his formal education at the DePaul School of Law in Chicago completing one and a quarter years before being recalled into the Navy in May of 1951. In his second stint with the Navy during the Korean War, Chuck was stationed at Adak Island in Alaska. They were to watch for the possible invasion of Russia through the Kamachatka Strait. They had a single old canon and Chuck was issued a .45 automatic pistol with no ammunition. Chuck was discharged from this assignment in 1952 earning the rank of First-Class Petty Officer.

During his many years at Mannheim Baptist Church, Chuck served as an usher, trustee, and treasurer. Chuck also served as a trustee for Judson College in Elgin, IL.

Over Chuck’s long life, he had many work experiences and entrepreneurial endeavors. Early on he worked as an accountant for Martin Marietta where he met Floyd Thomasson. Later Chuck and Floyd opened their own accounting firm. Chuck and Floyd purchased a restaurant together located at Madison and Kedzie in Chicago. Chuck later operated a snack shop located in the Rivera Bowing Lanes in Franklin Park, IL. Chuck owned and operated a bakery/broasted chicken business for a short time. Chuck finally worked as the accountant and plant manager for Paragon Molding Company in Franklin Park before retiring for the first of three times.

Chuck had a dream and mission to build a Christian camp for under privileged youth from the Chicago area who could not afford to attend a “formal” church summer camp. With this in mind, in 1964, he purchased seventy-eight overgrown acres in southwestern Michigan that had an old farmhouse, and some broken-down out-buildings. Over the years, Chuck built a large bunkhouse, two storage buildings and their retirement home. For forty years, Chuck and Cle hosted countless junior and senior high school weekend church retreats for churches in Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Many young lives were changed though Chuck’s and Cle’s ministry at what was to become known as Maplecrest Farm.

When Cle retired from teaching in 1984, the couple moved from Northlake to the retirement home Chuck built at Maplecrest Farm. Chuck retired for the second time from Thomasson Accounting firm and as an accountant for an orthopedic prosthetic manufacturing company. While living in Michigan, Chuck worked as the accountant for Saint Gregory Abbey in Three Rivers, MI. In 2010, Chuck retired for the third time, sold Maplecrest Farm and the couple moved to Machesney Park, IL, to be closer to family. Chuck lived the last eighteen months at Fairhaven Christian Retirement Home.

Chuck sometimes referred to himself as a “Miracle Man.” This was because he gradually recovered from a stroke in his early 40’s. Also, at age 56, he miraculously recovered from a two-story fall from the house roof at Maplecrest where he struck his forehead on a concrete retaining wall. He was near death two separate times during his long recovery. Chuck was truly an amazing and most humble man.

Chuck is survived by children, Paul (Denise) Karr of Caledonia, IL, John (Tammy) Karr of Fishers, IN, and Mary (Steve) Christie of Belvidere, IL; 8 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; 2 great-great-grandchildren; sisters, Emma Bishop of Denver, CO, Eulla Mae Powell of Denver, CO, Joretta Allee of Cape Gerardo, MO, and Donna Sue (Gordon) Wisner of El Dorado, MO. Predeceased by his wife, Cleora Karr of Machesney Park, IL; his brothers, Howard Karr of Kansas City, MO, Ray Dolan Howser of Kaiser, MO, and Tommy Howser of Stoutland, MO.

Service at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 6, 2023, at Calvary Chapel Church, 7281 Olde Creek Road, Rockford, IL 61114, with visitation from 10 a.m. to service time. Burial in Scottish Argyle Cemetery. Arrangements by Delehanty Funeral Home, of Loves Park, IL.