Carl John Engstrom

Saying goodbye to the Captain, Carl John Engstrom, who passed away much too soon on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. He was a husband, father, papa, uncle, and friend to many.

Carl was born in Seattle, WA on August 14, 1946 to Clarence and Margaret. He was the oldest of the brothers, Vic and Fred, and little sister, Tina. He is survived by his wife of 54 years Joyce, daughter Erin (Brandon), daughter Haimee, son Ben (Courtney), and granddaughters Mayce, Evie, and Keira.

He was raised in Arlington and following high school spent most of his years on the water as both a captain and a fisherman. After serving in Vietnam, he went to work at Foss Maritime. After many years as a tugboat captain for Foss, he proudly became a Puget Sound Pilot in 1990, piloting ships in and out of port for 24 years, wrapping up his last few years alongside his brothers.

Carl loved fishing, shrimping, and tinkering on his boats. He was ‘Chinook’ to his long-time fishing friends, making the trip up to Canada salmon fishing for 40+ years. He was ‘Charlie’ to his buddies in Puerto Vallarta. Whether he was catching the big ones up in Winter Harbor or winning a tournament or two…or three for sailfish, marlin, or dorado in Mexico, he for sure had that fishing thing dialed in. He even won a car or two (hopefully team Sea Señor can keep that winning streak going!).

For the past seventeen years, one of the great loves of his life was his home in Puerto Vallarta. He always welcomed friends and family from Washington and really enjoyed the new group of friends who became family down in Mexico. He cherished his time in Puerto Vallarta and enjoyed sharing coffee or a shot of good tequila with his amigos. This big Norwegian was a true Norwegian-Mexican.

Uff da, Carl, we will miss you so much. We will miss your salmon (both smoked and on the racks), shrimp, and holiday dinners (he was a great cook!). We’ll even miss the lutefisk. Without you, we’re not sure who’s going to cook it going forward. We will wear our Viking helmets and take a shot of aquavit (has to be Linie) as we toast you. We will honor the traditions you Engstrom brothers have passed on to us. Adiós, Capitán.

We will celebrate him on Saturday, August 9th at 3pm at The Mule Palace, 19920 43rd Avenue N.E., Arlington, WA 98223. If you have stories to tell (and I’m sure there are many), we look forward to hearing them.