Obituary of Carl O. Degner

Beloved husband, father and grandfather, Carl O. Degner Jr. died at home in Greenwich on November 16, 2019, after a long illness. Carl was in the company of the love of his life, wife of 57 years, Virginia Tassi Degner.

Carl was born on May 6, 1932, in West Bend, WI and raised in Milwaukee.  He graduated from Rufus King High School in Milwaukee in 1950.  He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and has been an especially proud veteran ever since. He graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1955 and began a long and distinguished career with the Square D Company, retiring in 1993.

Carl and Virginia were married in 1962 in Newington, CT.  Their lives together took them to Binghamton, NY, Clifton Park, NY and to Greenwich in 1976 to raise a family.  The move to Greenwich allowed Carl to fulfill his passion for animals by raising horses, donkeys and many dogs over the years.  Through his later years Carl devoted his life to caring for his wife and being the best example of what a husband and father should be.

Carl is survived by his wife, Virginia Tassi Degner; son Christopher (Mary) of Leawood, KS; daughter Karen Coon (Jared) of New Bern, NC; son Andrew (Amber) of Penn Yan, NY; and grandchildren Amanda, Emily, Olivia and Jacob Degner.  He is also survived by his sisters Lois Schug and Beverly Heimann.  He also maintained a lifelong relationship with exchange student Mehmet Ozkurt of Istanbul, Turkey.

Carl was preceded in death by his father Carl O Degner Sr. and mother Dorothy, as well as sisters Carol and Judy and brother James.

A special thanks from the family to Kat Christensen, Abbegale Krug, Michelle Corbeil, and Shelley Simms for their loving care of Carl in his final years.  Deeply grateful for the support of the hospice nurses and staff who attended to Carl in the last months of his life.

A Funeral Mass of Celebration will be held at 10AM on Monday, November 25, at St. Clement’s Catholic Church, Lake Ave, Saratoga Springs.  A graveside ceremony will take place following the mass at Noon at the Saratoga National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made in Carl’s name to the Community Hospice of Saratoga and Washington Counties, 179 Lawrence Street, Saratoga, NY 12866.