November 12, 1924 - September 13, 2016

A loving husband, a terrific father, and a man who knew how to have fun

Carl Norman Rautenberg, age 91, of Edmonds, Washington passed away on September 13, 2016, after a brief illness.  

He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on November 12, 1924.  At 16 Carl took over the family milk delivery business to support his mother when his father died suddenly.  Upon graduation from Melrose (Massachusetts) High School in 1942 he entered the Navy where he completed his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (Tufts University).  An athlete for the vast majority of his life, Carl was Captain of the Tufts University football team in 1944 and 1945.  On a single day, March 2, 1946 he married his high school sweetheart, Louise Mildred Hoffman, graduated college (the first in his family) and received his commission as a Naval Officer.

He served his country in the Navy Civil Engineer Corp for 21 years.  His Naval service took his growing family to a wide variety of locations. He and Louise had five children over 20 years born in some of those corners of the globe, Guam, New York, North Carolina, Kwajalein and Edmonds.  He settled his family in Edmonds in 1963.  Upon retirement from the Navy in 1964, he then served the City of Mountlake Terrace for 26 years, first as City Engineer then later adding roles as Director of Public Works and Director of Community Development.    During his military and government service career he also earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) and a Masters degree in Public Administration (University of Washington).

His wife Louise passed on March 8, 2007 after  61 years of marriage.

Carl was passionate about his family, the great outdoors, the value of education, exercising, and travel.  When working he spent every lunch hour diving at the local pool and jogging.  He took his family camping or backpacking every summer. He snow skiied every winter, first with Edmonds Ski School as a chaperone, and later with a group of friends traveling by bus together to all the local ski areas.  He loved his $5 senior season ski pass and counted runs every ski day to figure his average cost per chair ride.   He and Louise spent many months travelling the country in their RV.  Carl loved the water (particularly Edmonds beach and Lake Cle Elum). At 90 he jumped into Puget Sound on January 1st with the other Polar Bear swimmers, and came out last.  He spent time with his kids and enjoyed simply throwing a ball or any other game they wanted to play.  He will be remembered by his family as a loving husband, a terrific father, and a man who knew how to have fun.

He is survived by his five children and their partners:  Ronald and Patricia (Brennan) Rautenberg; Robert and Patsy (Johnston) Rautenberg; Steven and Terry (Maul) Rautenberg; Karen Rautenberg and Mitzi Fike; and Eric and Christine (Nicol) Rautenberg.  He is also survived by 9 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren.

Carl was lucky to find love in his twilight years with a kind and caring woman,  Beverly Leatherman.  They spent many happy hours playing cribbage and enjoying each other’s company.

FUNERAL INFORMATION

A "Celebration of Life" party will be held at Edmonds United Methodist Church, 828 Caspers St, Edmonds, WA 98020, on November 5, 2016, at 3:00 pm.  Stories, written or spoken welcome.  

DONATIONS

To honor Carl, enjoy a bowl of ice cream, take a walk, dive into a mountain lake with a bar of Ivory soap, watch the stars come out, or make a donation to the Millionair Club in his name.