Carl L. Meriwether Jr. died at home surrounded by his family on July 27, 2021 at the age of 94. Carl was born February 10, 1927, in Sunflower County, MS. to Carl L. Meriwether Sr. and Nannie Pearl Clark. He became a resident of Baton Rouge in 1954. Carl and Nell were married in 1952. Carl was a true person of character and a legacy in his time and for many years to come. Carl loved his Country and enlisted in the United States Navy serving 8 years in WWII, Operation High Jump with Admiral Byrd and the Korean Conflict. "Always a privilege, never a sacrifice." Carl had Meriwether's Mobil full service station for 40 years. If you didn't know the station, it's likely you knew the marquee at the corner where birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, how many days till teal season, and so much more were displayed. Carl's work ethic was instilled in teenage boys who grew up to become the finest of men and the years they spent working at the service station will be talked about for a lifetime. He taught them "The Meriwether Way," a full service station right down to cleaning out ashtrays and checking spare tires. He somewhat reluctantly retired in 1996. He quickly signed up to be a volunteer "pink lady" at Baton Rouge General and served there from 1996 to 2003. Carl then began work at St. James Retirement Community shuttling the residents from 2003 until 2013. Carl and Nell were very active in various ministries at First Baptist Church, including a clothes closet for the homeless and Carl's Car Clinic. Carl and men from the Church along with former service station employees would do routine checks for anyone that came by. Carl received the Baton Rouge Inter-Civic Council Golden Deeds award in 2000. Carl and Nell had four children: Lester Meriwether (Donna), Lindy McManus, Anita Zeringue (Mike) and Lauren Stack (Dan) and niece Charise Meriwether. He had eight grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. Carl is preceded in death by the love of his life Nell Meriwether, parents Carl and Lucille Meriwether and Mrs. C Chatham, sister Jane Ornsby, brother Clyde Meriwether and sister-in-law Diane Meriwether. Pallbearers are Kyle Armstrong, Clayton Schuler, Rick Munch, Darryl Powell, Tyler Lafauci, Dan MacDonald. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. Gene Berry, Dr. Rusty Field, Dr. Stephen Antrobus, Dr. Crayton Fargason, John Hamberlin, Sonny Suggs and Don Haile. Visitation will be held at First Baptist Church, downtown Baton Rouge on Sunday, August 1, 2021 from 6 pm until 8 pm. Visitation resumes Monday, August 2, 2021 from 9 am until the Funeral Service at 11 am. Interment will follow at Louisiana National Cemetery, in Zachary, LA. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to the Salvation Army.
