Carl Black

Carl Black, 55, born in Mobile, Alabama passed away on March 13th, 2020. Carl was the son of Jesse Black and Mary B. Smith. He spent most of his formative years in South Carolina, where he graduated from Wren High School and attended Piedmont Technical College before entering the Army. Carl served in the 82nd Airborne and was a paratrooper during the conflict in Grenada. In 2005, he married Shannon Craft, and they celebrated 15 happy years of marriage before he passed.

Carl was known for his work ethic, integrity, kindness (especially to animals), and his sense of humor. He was a family man, and if you were a friend you were family. He spent most of the last 20 years working with Waffle House, starting as a manager trainee, working his way up to serving as Area Vice President in 2012, and in 2014 he was made an Officer of the Company. His work family was important to him and he touched many lives in this role.

In his spare time he enjoyed getting in the car and going for a ride just to see the local sites. He also loved to ‘drop in’ at work and see how things were going and check on his people even when he was off. In his spare time, he would play a round of golf or sit at home eating pizza and watching TV while just being with his family.

He is preceded in death by his father, Carl Jesse Black, step-father Hugh Smith and his beloved dogs Murphy and Zoey.

He is survived by his wife Shannon, his sons Jesse (Jessica), Jack, Spencer and Ethan and his mother Mary Black Smith. He is also survived by his sisters Ann Hessinger (Russell), Rose Cox (Ben), Tina Haley (Greg); his brother John Black (Pamela). He was and is loved by many nieces and nephews, as well as many other friends. In addition, he is survived by his lifetime best friend, Eric Gentry.