Carl Jerome Crees

A beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and son, Carl Jerome Crees, passed away on May 26th, 2026, just a few months after the love of his life, Judy.

Carl is survived by his two daughters, Diane (Mark) Witthar and Lisa (John) Romano; his grandchildren, Mallory (Brad) Olson, Meredith Witthar, Francesca (Skyler) Winters, Evan Witthar, and Christopher Romano; and his great-grandchildren, Hannah, Haven, and Hunter Olson.

Carl was born on March 20, 1940, in Decatur, Iowa, to Vaughn and Veletta (Norman) Crees. He was the second of six siblings. He graduated from Lincoln High in 1959 (which, as he always joked, only happened because Judy wouldn't be there to keep him in line).

In the Railsplitter yearbook, Carl said his ambition was "to become a successful bricklayer, make a certain someone happy, and to look back to the past without any regrets."

Carl did exactly that, going on to not just be a bricklayer, but a successful stone mason and eventually a foreman who helped work on the Iowa State Capitol building. He also spent many years as an auctioneer throughout Central Iowa - where sometimes he was buying more than he was selling - but he brought an unmistakable presence to everywhere he went.

At his core, Carl was a man who didn't need much to be happy. As long as he had Judy, his family, his dog, his horses, and his farm, that was more than enough.

Carl built a life with his own two hands, but what mattered most to him could never be measured in brick or stone. It was measured in 65 years with Judy, in the family they raised, and in the farm and animals he cared for every day. He more than fulfilled the ambition he wrote down as just a kid: he worked hard, he made a certain someone happy, and built a life worth looking back on without regret.