In Memory of Carl Raymond Rohrenbach

Freedom, Idaho: Carl Raymond Rohrenbach, born January 11, 1932 in Williston, North Dakota, passed peacefully into glory at his daughter Cathy's house on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at the ripe old age of 93. Carl was the son of Austrie (Helland) Rohrenbach and George Carl Rohrenbach, and he was raised on a wheat farm near Culbertson, Montana with his younger brother Kenneth.

Carl served in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1955 aboard the U.S.S. Los Angeles, a heavy cruiser, first working on the deck division, and later for the radio crew. He earned the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal (13 stars,) the United Nations Service Medal, and the Navy Good Conduct Medal.

Just before his third and final tour of duty, Carl met the love of his life, Maxine Null, on blind date in Long Beach, California. Nine weeks later she proposed; "I was too shy," he said; a week later, on November 7, 1953, they were married in Las Vegas, Nevada; and three days later he went back overseas. Carl and Maxine raised their four children, Cathy, Peter, Jim, and Karen, in Long Beach, Lakewood, and La Palma, California, and moved to Hemet when they retired. After Maxine died, Carl moved to Thayne, Wyoming to Legacy Assisted Living to be cared for by his daughter, Cathy.

After the navy Carl worked on a turkey ranch in Long Beach, and then for a furniture company. His son Peter recalled that he often worked two or three jobs to support his family-- janitor, security guard, and mail man among them; he would retire from the Postal Service. "He loved to read and was able to read every night as an overnight security guard on the docks of the Los Angeles harbor," remembered Peter. Carl's granddaughter Sarah said that he once confided in her that he wished he would have been able to be a theater major in college, and indeed Carl had a taste for the theatrical, as he and his wife went to clown school after they retired, performing as clowns at grandchildren's birthdays and other community events. Carl was also notorious for his endless stream of corny jokes. "Carl, that was funny the first time I heard it" was a common refrain-- all in good fun. He played Goofy in later years, as well.

Carl was involved with many churches over the years: Del Amo Baptist Church; Faith Community Church in La Palma, which he helped start; both Nazarene and Southern Baptist churches in Hemet; and Morning Star Southern Baptist Church in Alpine, Wyoming. No matter where he went, Carl got into ministry. In Hemet he worked with the homeless through his church's outreach program, and several times he served as a deacon. At Morning Star he was a prayer warrior, going in early every Sunday Morning to pray for his community.

He was preceded in death by his father, his mother, his wife, his brothers Kenneth (Blanche) and Gary, and his granddaughter Amy. He is survived by his four children: Cathy (Kent) Canaday, Peter (Donna) Rohrenbach, Jim Rohrenbach, and Karen (Dan) Schade; six grandchildren: Kender, Sarah, Cody, Lauren, Michelle, and Adam; and nine great grandchildren: Forge, Kayla, Matty, Bella, Ame, Archer, Lyla, Mollie, and Henry.

Family and friends will celebrate the life and faith of Carl Rohrenbach on Tuesday, March 18, at 11am at Morning Star Southern Baptist Church, 156 Morning Star Drive, Alpine, WY. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Jesus Cares School in Uganda for sporting goods and other needs, as Carl's heart was always missions.