Dear Aunt Gina, As I just found out uncle Carl "Toot" past away, we share in your grief, and although my parents moved to Michigan in 1960, I still remember the weddings and gatherings as a kid and a few years ago at a family reunion. May uncle Carl rest in peace and I hope you will always cherish the memories.

Oh, and by the way, I loved all the pictures!  I looked at all of them.  Really captures all the things Carl loved.

Carl was unforgettable!  As others have said, he was the perfect neighbor.  I don't think we'll ever have a better one.  He was generous, caring, and a hoot!  I loved his laugh.  I can hear it in my memory now, just thinking about it.  I'm so glad he adopted our family and felt at home coming and going.  But I have talked to many others in the neighborhood over the years and found out that everyone knew him very well!!

Gina, although we are farther away and it's not so convenient, if you'll ever stop working (ha), I hope we can start spending more regular time together.  We love you very much and wish we could do more to ease your pain.  May God be near to you and lead you on into the peace and comfort only He can give.

A few years ago, I took a video of Carl doing the "hardest puzzle in the world" as he called it, and uploaded it to YouTube to share because it was so typical of him.  I didn't have your email addresses, so I never got it sent back then, but I figured I would share it someday in circumstances like these.  I hope you will find it comforting to have another glimpse of the Carl we knew and loved, in his element!

https://youtu.be/54AQtPTvsw8

The date of the video was 11/9/2011.

When we moved to the neighborhood Carl was the first one to stop by and say hi, and from that point forward he was usually a daily sight in some way.  There were neighbors who we had never seen beyond waving as they drove past 15 years later, but Carl was the epitome of the friendly neighbor and an earlier generation of men.  Over the many years that followed we became quite close.  

As a teenager my brothers and I spent a lot of time at his house getting introduced to classic westerns, card games, fishing, raising and butchering rabbits, gardening, lots of stories (some of questionable veracity, we suspected, but always entertaining!), and just fiddling around the yard and workshop.   He didn't have it in his genes to slow down--he was always working on something, and proud of his work ethic.  He came from a time when a man's worth was found in hard work, simple pleasures, and being a good and honorable person and that meant a lot to him.

Whether he was filling the old car's trunk with grapefruit to distribute around the neighborhood, catching a bunch of little fish in the canal to hand out, or mowing somebody's lawn in exchange for a full tank of gas on the mower, he gave and gave and gave with little expectation of anything in return.  He was simply a good person enjoying a simple life.

At a later stage in life he became a daily visitor to the house to hang out with my grandparents as they slowed down.  He took great pride in how he watched out for them, helped them with little things, and kept them company as he tirelessly worked away at one puzzle after another.  He would make up little songs as he worked, engaged my grandpa in mostly one-sided conversations, and usually saved the last few pieces for Grandpa to put in after Carl had done 90% of the puzzle himself.  

The last years of their lives would have been very different and much more lonely without him around.  Yes, I think he appreciated the companionship as well and was glad to have somewhere to go instead of being home alone, but I think he found purpose in his role there.  He would never have admitted it, but it was obvious that he took his job there very seriously, especially after my grandpa passed and grandma was home alone sometimes with nobody to keep an eye on her but him.  My family was greatly blessed to have him in our lives in that time.

After my grandparents had passed and our family went through a transition I moved back into the house and it was then time to give back.  Carl's mental condition had started to deteriorate and he wasn't capable of doing as much as he used to, but we were able to continue interacting with him.  Now it was our turn to help him as my wife helped him complete the puzzles, I helped him keep the lawnmower running, and playing with our kids brought joy to his life.  Our home continued to be a familiar place of comfort to him as more and more in his life became confusing, and we welcomed him in to hang out even if he had just been there 10 minutes prior.  Toward the end he seemed to think that our house was actually his home, which was a good indication of just how much he had been part of our lives for so many years.  We were glad that we could be part of a support structure for him and his wife as she struggled through the new challenges.

The end is never easy with situations like Carl's, but when you feel like somebody has been part of your family for so many years you have so many good memories of the good times that the end is just a small footnote in a good story.  We were honored to be such an integral part of Carl's life and will always treasure our memories of time spent with him.  We will miss him and his smile, his jokes, his pockets full of candy, and his good heart, and he will always stand in my memory as a fine representative of his generation from a world which looked so different from today.

When my girls found out that Carl was gone, they said, "Is he still giving out peppermints?" We all have special memories of his laugh and his generous spirit. When we lived with my parents there on 79th Court, he would often come down and put together puzzles and chat with Grandma and the rest of the family, adding interest and fun to several people's quiet lives. We will always remember him!

When we moved out to Loxahatchee, Carl was the first person to introduce himself to us as our neighbor. He was always ready to lend a helping hand. He often came and worked on the shrubs around our house, mowed the lawn, pulled weeds, planted a garden for us, and just about anything he could find to keep himself busy. Then he would come in and work on a puzzle and talk with my mother. We will never forget his giving spirit. We could always count on him. I sincerely doubt if we will ever have another neighbor like that again.

I'll always remember Carl as being my best fishing guide. When I was younger he would take me fishing in the orange grove canals where we would fish for bluegill and catfish with a cane pole. I don't know why it was so different but I remember one special day where we caught over 75 catfish in a single day. It was such a dramatic haul that we had to make a trip home and back again to get enough buckets to put them all in! 

Carl was a great neighbor and a great friend. I will miss him!
-Joshua Sheats

I send my love to all the family at this time of sorrow.  We will always miss Carl. He was our special "good neighbor" for many years and spent many hours at our house working on puzzles and keeping company with my in-laws, Chris & Hazel, before they passed away. He always came in the door with a smile and pleasant greeting that brightened their days.  Several times when Grandpa fell I called Carl to help get him up, and he always "flew" down the road to help. He was always there for us through many years.  Thank you, Carl, and..."later"!

So sorry for your lose. My heart aches for the pain that all of you are suffering. I will keep Carl and all of you in my prays. Sure I wish could have been there for you but prior appointments made it impossible. Love  Vicki Giere and Family

OBITUARY

Carl C. Grilliot

January 14, 1931 – August 15, 2015

Quattlebaum Funeral, Cremation and Event Center

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Reminders

Services