Karl B. Means

Obituary for Karl B. Means - Born May 3, 1927 in Bradford, Pennsylvania, to Willard & Beatrice Nixon Means, the younger of two children. He grew up in Limestone, New York with his brother Willard “Bill” H. Means, Jr. In 1943, he moved to Hooven, Ohio where he attended Taylor High School and met his future wife, Jean E. Ryon. They graduated on June 6, 1944, D-Day. Karl enlisted in the Army and served in WWII in the Philippines as a Special Agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps. After his discharge from the Army in 1947, he settled in Cleves, Ohio, to start his family. Karl and Jean raised three children, Karen, Janet and Kenneth, while beginning a career in sales. As a dad, Karl loved playing all kinds of games with his children, from flying kites on Coleman’s hill to playing football and baseball in the backyard. He retired from Prudential and they moved to Clearwater, Florida in 1983.

Karl fully enjoyed his retirement and eventually married Aletha (Russell). They established a warm home together where they welcomed everybody for holidays and family gatherings and enjoyed traveling, bird watching and Aletha’s fine meals. Karl enjoyed table tennis, swimming, cycling, bowling, billiards and games of all kinds. As a lifelong member of the Methodist church, Karl enjoyed volunteering in the Methodist churches he attended and held numerous offices and leadership roles. Faith was very important to Karl and he lived out his faith through his actions and enjoyed singing in the choir and doing dramatic presentations whenever asked. He was faithful, conscientious and always had a twist of humor on the tip of his tongue with a hardy chuckle. Karl was fortunate to spend the last five years of his life living with his son, Ken and his wife, Diana, surrounded with the love of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He ate dinner with Jean and bantered with Diana daily. He lived a good and full life.

Karl is survived by his first wife, Jean, their three children and their spouses: Karen (Steve), Janet (Dan), Kenneth (Diana); his grandchildren: Darin (Chrishna), Shevon (Eric), Stephanie (Damon), Sheree (Wayne), Jamison (Danielle) and Michele; their great-grandchildren: Otho Garrett, Holden Wesley, Ryleigh Jean, Ethan Kizer and Sara Ruth.