John W. Carr

On November 7, 2019, John W. Carr, husband of Judy, father of Jack (Joy, wife to Jack) and Donna and grandfather of five, died at Howard County General Hospital.  Born in Laurel on September 5, 1935, he attended Laurel Elementary and Laurel Junior-Senior High School, where he developed great athletic abilities.  He was a three-letter man at LHS, in baseball, football, and basketball; and at graduation he was awarded the School Sweater in Boys' Athletics 1954.  At the University of Maryland, Johnny was a member of the Gymkhana Troupe, and was selected to travel to Iceland with the troupe.  To quote one of his classmates, "Johnny was the person who could run longer and run faster than anybody else.  He could throw a baseball so fast nobody could hit it."  As a grown man, he enjoyed league bowling, his boat, and water skiing, mainly on the Severn River.

Since his childhood, Johnny enjoyed all things aeronautic and entered the Cadet Program of the United States Air Force.  What he didn't enjoy was a military life, so when the program at Lackland Air Force base concluded, he finished his hitch and continued his love of planes as a civilian.  He leaves a stick-built two-seater Pietenpol airplane partially completed but FAA inspected.

After his stint in the Air Force, he entered a plumber apprentice program, then the journeyman plumber program, and finally the master plumber program.  At that time, he was the youngest person ever to take and pass that exam.  But he wanted to own his own shop, Patuxent Plumbing and Heating, Inc.  After 44 years as owner/operator, he docked his licence and enjoyed his retirement mainly in a quiet way: keeping up with his friends, his old classmates, his brother-in-law, his wonderfully attentive nieces and nephews, and visiting his son Jack in the mid-West and daughter Donna in Laurel, and assuring the happiness of his wife Judy.  He will be sorely missed.

A visitation will be held at the Donaldson Funeral Home, P.A., 313 Talbott Avenue, Laurel, MD. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church, 114 St. Mary's Place, Laurel, MD 20707 on Friday at 11:00 am. Interment will be in Ivy Hill Cemetery.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John W. Carr, please visit our floral store.