Carl John KUHLERS

KUHLERS, HALFPAP, KOENEN, FITZGERALD, HOLLAND, HODGE, PALS

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 2/10/2024 at 13:07:01

October 15, 1916 ---- August 16, 2019

Carl John Kuhlers, 2 months shy of 103, of Belmond, passed away August 16, 2019, at the Rehabilitation Center in Belmond. Funeral services for Carl Kuhlers will be held at 10:30 AM on Tuesday, August 20, 2019 at Immanuel Reformed Church, 3157 130th Street in Belmond with Pastor Dave DeKuiper officiating. Burial will follow at the Immanuel Reformed Church Cemetery. Visitation for Carl Kuhlers will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 PM on Monday, August 19, 2018 at Ewing Funeral Home, 111 Luick’s Lane South in Belmond, and will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Tuesday.

Carl, the eighth of nine children of Albert and Greitje Kuhlers, was born on October 15, 1916, north of Meservey. That day was also the day of his parent’s anniversary. He grew up on the family farm and attended a nearby country school.

Carl was united in marriage to Shirley Grace Halfpap on June 13, 1941, in Princeton, Missouri, with Leland and Alverda Koenen as their witnesses at the ceremony. To this union, three children were born: Terry, Wil, and Penny. They farmed at several locations around Thornton, Meservey, and for over 50 years at the farm east of Belmond where Shirley was born. They moved to the Belmond Community Apartments for several years. In 2013, Carl moved to the Rehabilitation Center of Belmond shortly after Shirley’s death, when he broke his hip. They were married one week short of 72 years.

Carl, a quiet and basically soft-spoken person, started his farming career with horses. He always had a special interest in and love for horses and anything Western, especially vests, belt buckles, and caps, and was basically a Cowboy at heart. He had many interests besides farming including grain hauling for local farmers and attending auctions and sales. He especially liked “rescuing” and displaying antiques and old things before they were junked, to preserve their historical value. He constructed several floats with hit-and-miss engines running various machines and appliances for demonstrations and in parades. Carl especially enjoyed having a helping hand in establishing the Prairie Antique Power and Craft Show. For many years he also demonstrated rope making for kids at the show and numerous other venues and fairs along with making miniature hay bales from small balers he designed and built. He was inventive and talented in determining solutions to problems and fixing things.

But most of all, he enjoyed reunions and visits with family and friends, anytime and any place. Carl was a good man and it showed in being a good husband, father, and loyal friend–and a hardworking Christian man who loved and honored God. He was always ready and willing to help others with their needs.

Carl will be greatly missed by his family and friends, and is survived by son Terry and his wife Eileen of Eagle River, WI, son Wil of Belmond, and daughter Penny Fitzgerald and husband Jeff, of Newhall, IA, six grandsons, Todd, Matthew, Keith (Mindy), and Jeff (Shree) Kuhlers, and Joel (Jackie) and Paul Fitzgerald. Other survivors include eight great-grandchildren Mia, Leighton, Kajin, Emory, and Kennedy Kuhlers, Benjamin Fitzgerald, Adalyn Holland, and Kaylee Hodge, sisters-in-law Ruth Pals and Muriel Halfpap of Belmond and numerous nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his sweetheart wife, Shirley, his parents, and eight brothers and sisters and their spouses.

https://www.ewingfh.com/obituaries/carl-j-kuhlers/