Obituary of Karl Rymer

Karl passed away on December 27th from cancer at the age of 86. He was born in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on June 16th, 1927 and moved to Chicago when he was 12. He joined the Navy in 1945 then returned to Chicago and attended junior college before pursuing a degree in Forestry at Iowa State University. Karl married Mary Anne Lounsberry on September 16, 1950 in Colo, IA. He accepted a job with the Bureau of Land Management in Eugene in 1952 and spent 33 years as a forester and area manager. After retirement, he worked at Frontier Publishing and was active in the Southtowne Rotary Club, where he served as president. He was involved in helping many great causes such as Food for Lane County and Habitat for Humanity and gave his time to help on several projects for the First Congregational Church. He volunteered for Fish & Wildlife at Fern Ridge and belonged to McKenzie Carvers, where he became an accomplished woodcarver. Karl loved the outdoors and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He still holds the family record for catching the largest King salmon--52 pounds! Karl never met a person he couldn’t talk to; no one was a stranger.Karl is survived by his wife of 63 years, Mary Anne, a sister, Anita Farrar, of Arlington Heights, Illinois, four children: Tim (Jenny) of Port Angeles, WA; David (Cindy) of Valdez, AK; Debi (Wes) of Crescent City, CA; and Joel of Eugene; four grandchildren: Bobby (Anna) of Hillsboro, OR; Paul of Bellingham, WA; Ashley and Shelley of Anchorage, AK; and a great grandchild due the first of June. Also surviving are three nephews and two nieces in Chicago.In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Food for Lane County or Habitat for Humanity. A celebration of life memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 4th, 2:00 p.m. at Musgrove Family Center in Eugene.Arrangements entrusted to Musgrove Family Mortuary. Please access the obituary and you are invited to sign the guestbook at musgroves.comPlease sign the guest book at www.registerguard.com/legacy