Carl Vernon Hubbell

Carl Vernon Hubbell, 86, of Kansas City, Mo., died Feb. 25, 2014, of cancer at St. Joseph Medical Center. A celebration of his life will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at the Drum Room Lounge at the President Hotel, 1329 Baltimore Ave.

Carl was born on July 29, 1927, in Kansas City, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Kansas.

He worked in the insurance and transportation industries until 1981, when he started Hubbell-Tyner Inc., a trade show business that handled such annual accounts as the Future Farmers of America, the Kansas City Auto Show, the Kansas City Home Show and the Big Eight Tournament. His company handled many of the city’s special events, including the 1976 GOP Convention, the 1984 presidential debates and a Final Four NCAA basketball championship.

Carl served on the board of the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association, and was chairman of the board in 1993-95; he was also a member of the Missouri, Kansas and Kansas City Societies of Association Executives, the Hotel Sales & Marketing Association, and the Kansas City, Overland Park and Northland Chambers of Commerce.

He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Barbara; three children, Gail (Anton), Becky and Jim Hubbell; three stepchildren, Monte and Brandon “Mitch” Cooper (Shelley) and Vernisa Klapmeyer (Brian); 14 grandchildren, Lucia and Emma Brammer; Jessica Smith (Frank) and Jon, Veronica, Rachel and Banti Clark; Troy and Noah Hubbell; Sydney, Danielle and Brandon Cooper Jr.; and Morgan and Cooper Klapmeyer; and one great-grandchild, Janelle Breakfield.

He will be missed for his generosity to his community, his infectious enthusiasm for the convention business, his senses of humor, his skill as a pool hustler, and his love of golf, winters in Arizona, the movie Gunga Din, the Saturday jam sessions at Knuckleheads and, most of all, his large family and a wide circle of friends.

The family would like to thank the medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital for its care in Carl’s final days.