Rev. Carl H. Doerr Jr.

Rev. Carl Hanzel Doerr, Jr., known affectionately as “Gus” and “Pop Pop”, passed away on February 13, 2020 at his home in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania surrounded by his loving family. He was 77. Born in Baltimore and raised in Catonsville, Maryland, he was the son of Carl, Sr., a foreman with the Baltimore Electric Company, and Josephine (née Gordon), a homemaker and expert quilter.

Carl was a proud alumnus of West Virginia Wesleyan College’s Class of 1965, and pledged Phi Sigma Epsilon, earning the nickname “Dirt” from his beloved fraternity brothers for his carefree attitude toward housekeeping. Following college, he was employed as a geography and history teacher at Mount Hebron High School in Ellicott City, MD. He later earned a Master’s in History from Morgan State University and a Master’s in Education from Johns Hopkins University. From 1969 - 1970 he served as President of the Howard County Teachers Association.

Following a successful teaching career, he became an education administrator, working as the Director of Programs for Servicemen and Veterans of the American Association of Junior Colleges. In 1975, he testified before the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Education and Training of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, advocating for tuition provisions for Vietnam era veterans. He later became an accreditation specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education, where he met a young secretary named Carol. They wed in 1972 and were married for 47 years.

After nearly 20 years of service in higher education administration, Carl felt a calling toward Christian ministry. Taking a leap of faith, he and Carol moved their young family to Pennsylvania to begin a life of service to God at Immanuel Independent Church in Gradyville, PA. Carl committed himself to a course of study for several years that allowed him to be dedicated as a local pastor in the United Methodist Church. He pastored congregations in the Philadelphia area including Gradyville UMC, Ridley Park UMC, Eddystone UMC, Upland UMC, and Holmesburg UMC. He retired in 2007.

In addition to his faith and his family, the love of Carl’s life was baseball. A lifelong fan of the Baltimore Orioles, Carl grew to admire his adopted city’s team, the Philadelphia Phillies, and enjoyed reading extensively about the sport and traveling to see games in stadiums all over the country.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Carol (née Louden), and children Brian Doerr and his wife Victoria, Laura Doerr, Jennifer Clover and her husband Samuel, niece Sharon Allen and her husband Wayne and their children, Kevin and Amanda, and four grandchildren, Joshua, Benjamin, Carolyn and Michaela. He was predeceased by his parents, Carl Sr. and Josephine, and sister, Virginia Resch.

Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Sterling Ashton Schwab Witzke Funeral Home of Catonsville, Inc., 1630 Edmondson Ave., Catonsville, MD 21228 on Wednesday, February 19, 10:30AM to 11:30AM, where A Celebration of Life service will follow at 11:30AM. Burial, 1:30pm at Crest Lawn Memorial Gardens, 2150 Mt. View Rd., Marriottsville, MD 21104. Donations in memory of Carl may be made to the West Virginia Wesleyan Alumni Association, 59 College Avenue, Buckhannon, WV 26201 or at their website https://www.wvwc.edu/alumni/.