Donald Alvern Carver | The Gazette

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Donald Alvern Carver

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Donald Alvern Carver, 90, passed away after a long illness Friday, Dec. 30, 2022. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, in St. John Lutheran Church, Center Point, Iowa, with visitation beginning one hour prior. Murdoch Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Center Point, is assisting the family.

Don was born on January 14, 1932, in Center Point, Iowa, the son of Arnold and Leona (Reid) Carver. He graduated from Center Point High School and married his high school sweetheart, Lila Frank, on May 16, 1952, in Independence, Iowa.

Don spent most of his career at Collins Radio (later Rockwell Collins). He served as a maintenance man, keeping the boilers, air conditioning and just about everything else running. He proudly maintains the air control system in the white room where the moon capsule radio system was built in the 1960s. He balances on beams, crawls through holes and will do whatever it takes to do his job. He worked the night shift for years and even though he switched to days, he volunteered to work on Christmas Eve so others could go home with their families.

Don was also with C&S Laundromat in Center Point for many years. He is perfectly suited for this, because he can fix any washer, dryer, change machine or vending machine in a small business. In fact, Don can fix almost anything.

Don had a legendary sense of humor. His stories and mischief brought joy and laughter to others throughout his life. He is also a legendary fan of St. Louis Cardinals. Before cable or satellite television, he could be found on the back porch of his house every summer listening to the Jack Buck called Cardinal games on KMOX. He brought his family to countless Cardinals games and there is a brick outside Busch Stadium in his honor. Don was a longtime Cedar Rapids Reds and Kernels fan.

Don plays his guitar, harmonica and accordion most nights. As a child, his self-recorded records were played on jukeboxes in Center Point and Walker, and an agent approached him about recording in Nashville in the 50s. Don chose to stay in Center Point, as he is a self-described family man.

Don loved the outdoors, and especially the Black Hills of South Dakota. He took his family on annual summer vacations and was known to take the path less traveled. There are few gravel roads that Don can’t break and in doing so, his family finds many untouched beauty spots.

Don was active in the Center Point Booster Club and Center Point School Board and served as president of both. He is also a longtime PA announcer for Pointers football.

Don gave his family many gifts, including a sense of adventure, a love of music and the outdoors, but most of all, a love of Jesus Christ as our Savior. Don was a lifelong Christian, and we know he is singing in heaven with his beloved friends and family who have gone before.

Survivors include his wife, Lila Carver; children, Peggy Ann (David Alan Humphrey) Carver of Ridgefield, Wash., Richard Dean (Rachel) Carver of New Mexico and Polly Marie (Todd Kimm) Carver-Kimm of Urbandale, Iowa; grandchildren, Lauren Carver Humphrey (Adam Bernstein) of Culver City, Calif., Emily Carver Humphrey of Portland, Ore., Charles (Eryn) Davis of Indianola, Iowa, Joseph (Jenny) Carver, Benjamin (Amy) Carver, Jonathan ( Courtney ) Carver, all of Flagstaff, Ariz., Hannah (Shane) Carver-Silva of Edgewood, NM, Tara (Jordan) Brown of Story City, Iowa, Kaitlin (Bruce) Alter of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Trevor (Lauren ) Kimm of Nashville, Tenn.; eight great-grandchildren; and brother, Tom (Suzanne) Carver of Center Point, Iowa.

Don was preceded in death by his parents and daughter, Patti Kay Davis.

The family would like to thank the Vinton Lutheran Home for the loving care given to Don.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dons’ memory may be made to the Center Point-Urbana Booster Club.

Please share a memory of Don at www.murdochfuneralhome.com under obituaries.

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