Carl’s Obituary Carl O’Dell, age 92, of Marshall, died Saturday, January 20, 2019. Funeral services will be held at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home on Friday, January 25, 2019 with visitation at Campbell-Lewis Funeral Home at 10:00-11:00 a.m. and funeral at 11:00. Burial will follow at Ridge Park Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Optimist Club of Marshall or Friends of Jim the Wonder Dog. An online guestbook is available at www. campbell-lewis.com.
Carl was born December 28, 1926 in Richmond, MO to the late Joseph and Della Tracy O’Dell. They farmed near Norborne before moving to Carrollton where Carl graduated from High School in 1944. He married Margaret Campbell on November 9, 1947 and they had four daughters: Carol Jean, Linda Joyce, Nancy Marie and Ann Margaret.
Carl operated a bulldozer, owned and operated Carl’s Body Shop and Wrecker Service, repaired radiators, sold car parts, shared ownership in a go-kart race track and had Starliner Motel built for his parents to live and manage. He was a member of First Christian Church, Jaycee’s, Civil Defense and volunteered his wrecker service at the Marshall Race Track. He liked to create oddities by combining unusual parts together.
He connected the front of a car with the back of a pick-up before Ford introduced the Ranchero. Moving his family to Marshall in 1962, Carl developed the O’Dell Estates and named the streets Indian names. The first house built was for his parents followed by a liquor store for his father to work in.
Carl sold insurance and built a new Body Shop and Wrecker Service in Marshall and the grand opening was the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Carl got his real estate license and was a charter member of the Optimist Club of Marshall which was organized in 1964. At the time of his death, he was a 55 year life member, and had served as past president, past secretary, and past lt.
governor. He never met a stranger and always had a story to tell. Every year near Christmas he would load his car with the bags of popcorn the Optimist made and would driver over two Counties for sales.
His grandchildren called his car “the popcorn car” as it smelled like popcorn for months. He built a summer vacation home in Sunrise Beach, MO and opened it to friends and family. He could teach people to water ski who had not been successful in prior attempts.
In retirement, Carl and Margaret enjoyed traveling and learning new crafts. Carl wrote some of his memories and experiences from over the years. His daughters have a copy.
For those who knew Carl best, he was most praised for being the caretaker of Margaret after her stroke in January 2000. He had never shopped at a grocery store, planned or prepared a meal, or ran the home from the inside. He learned to do all of this to be able to keep her at home.
Preceding him in death besides his parents was infant granddaughter, Keri Marie Fisher; daughter, Carol Jean Friend; son-in-law Stephen Leroy Crunk; sister, Dorothy Crass and husband Fred; sister, Joan Hanes and husband Al; and brothers-in-law Lewis and Ernest Campbell. Surviving are his wife Margaret O’Dell of Pilot Grove, daughters: Linda Crunk of Sacramento, CA, Nancy and Danny Fisher of Jefferson City, and Ann Sims of Marshall; sister, Vivian and Roger Ohms of Blue Springs; 11 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren, 6 great-great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.
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