The Joplin Globe
Joplin, Missouri
June 6th, 1966
WEBB CITY MAN DROWNS IN RIVER
A Webb City man drowned when his boat capsized in Spring River, just east
of the Kansas-Missouri state line near highway 96 in Jasper Co. Sunday
afternoon. Four other persons in the boat escaped injury and made it to
shore safely.
The victim was Clell Von Carl, 40 yrs. old, 606 So. Hall St. His body was
recovered from about 10 feet of water by members of the Galena, Ks. fire
department about an hour and a half later.
Mrs. Barbara Carl, the victim's wife, two children, Thomas L. Carl 14,
Edward A. Carl, 4 and a friend of Thomas Carl, Steve Hoppe 14, also of Webb
City were in the boat when it capsized, according to the Mo. Hwy. patrol.
Carl was the second member of the immediate family to die tragically within
the past 18 months. Another son of Mr. & Mrs. Carl, John Benjamin Carl, 14,
was killed in a hit-and-run accident while crossing the street in front of
the family home on Nov. 18, 1964.
Carl apparently helped his wife and the children to shallow water after the
boat overturned and then swan back for the boat when he drowned.
The drowning occurred about 3 o'clock (DST) Sunday afternoon, 100 yards
east of the Missouri-Kansas state line. Galena firemen said Carl's body
was recovered from about 10 foot of water near the spot where he was last
seen.
Recovering the body were Willet Truster, Bill Hall, Val Dugan, and Gerald
Anderson, all members of the Galena, Ks. fire department.
Also participating in the search were members of the Jasper and Cherokee
Co. sheriff's offices and the Jasper Co. rescue team.
Officers said Carl was fully dressed and was wearing heavy boots. The
family was apparently fishing out of the small river boat when the accident
occurred.
Born July 30, 1925, at Clay City, Ky., Mr. Carl had lived in Webb City
eight years moving here from Joplin. He was employed by the Missouri-Rogers
corporation in Joplin, and operated the Glass Hat Tavern in Webb City. He
was a veteran of WWII, serving in the Navy.
Survivors include his widow, Mrs. Barbara Breeden Carl, two sons, Thomas
Lee Carl and Edward Allen Carl, three daughters Patricia Ann Carl,
Theresa Yvonne Carl, and Deva Lynn Carl all of the home.
His Mother, Mrs. Bessie Lee Carl 620 So. Hall St., and a sister, Mrs. Berna
Mae King, 727 W. 12th St. all of Webb City.
Services will be announced by Johnston-Simpson funeral home. Webb City, Mo.
*Clell Von Carl was called "Junior" by all who knew him. This name was
given him by his wife, Barbara Nancy-Jane Breeden when she first met him in
1946 because he would not tell her his name. She said "OK, I'll just call
you JR. because you act so much like your Daddy."
Clell was a welder by trade, having learned this in the Navy. He entered
the military Sept. 28, 1943 at Wilmington, Del. and was sent to Bainbridge,
Md. for boot camp. He was honorably discharged April 10, 1946 and returned
home to Trapp, Ky. for a brief time. He joined his Daddy, John Clifton
Carl In Joplin, Mo. in June 1946. John had bought a home at 1125 Iowa Ave.
in Feb. 1946. Bessie Lee Curtis-Carl, along with her grand-daughter, Edna
Frances Logsdon, joined her husband and son Sept. 1947. "Junior" married
'the girl next door' Dec. 20. 1947 in Galena, Ks.
Clell is buried at Webb City Cemetery on Oronogo Rd. beside his son, John
Benjamin Carl.
Information from the personal knowledge of Frances Logsdon-Jones and from
the Curtis-Carl family bible.
Oct. 8, 2001
submitted by: Frances Jones-Murph