Karl "Jerry" Jerome LaGrone

He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Holley Sheppard LaGrone; a daughter Heather LaGrone Sheffield; a son, Heath (Alice) LaGrone; a brother-in-law, Kevin (Carmen) Sheppard; 5 grandchildren: Jeremy Sheffield, Jessica Sheffield, Sarah LaGrone, Jenna Sheffield and Luke LaGrone; 2 nephews and a niece: Cameron (Kaitlin) Sheppard, Collin Sheppard and Courtney Sheppard; and one great-nephew, Clark Sheppard.

Karl grew up in Holt, Alabama and graduated from Holt High School in 1963. He played basketball, was editor of the yearbook and salutatorian of his graduating class. During the Vietnam War, he served in the Army at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. Karl worked at Gulf States Paper Mill in Tuscaloosa until it closed. He retired from working at Rust Engineering in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended Shades Mountain Baptist Church. He enjoyed travelling with his wife, fly fishing and learning about history.

A visitation for Karl will be held on Monday, March 18th, 2024, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am at Southern Heritage Funeral Home, located at 475 Cahaba Valley Road, Pelham, AL 35124, followed by a funeral service at 11:00 am. For friends unable to attend the Service in Birmingham, the family will be receiving guests at Memory Chapel Funeral Home located at 2200 Skyland Blvd. East, Tuscaloosa, AL 35405 from 2:30 pm until 3:30 pm.

Serving as Pallbearers are Jeremy Sheffield, Luke LaGrone, Cameron Sheppard, Collin Sheppard, Chuck Elkins, Frank Smith, Lee Peters and Tommy Thomas. Honorary Pallbearers are Bobby McCraw, Ron Land, Larry Herring, Tom Hagler, Paul Gartman, Larry Moore, Mark Ward and Joel Miller.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Alabama Kidney Foundation (www.alkidney.org).