Carl William LaMothe

1933 - 2011

Carl William LaMothe was born in Fresno, March 9, 1933 and died June 1, 2011 in Capitola California.
He moved to Santa Cruz when he was 13 years old. His father, Carl W. LaMothe, Sr., died when Carl was 9 years old. His mother, Dorothy, married Harry Lemke and they bought and operated vacation rental cottages in Santa Cruz where the family lived from 1947 until 1966. Carl graduated from Santa Cruz High School and was a star athlete in both baseball and football.
He joined the Navy upon his graduation from high school. While stationed at San Diego Naval Training Station, he played football with the Navy as well as the Santa Cruz semi-pro league football team,The Seahawks, on weekends. He has always been a sports fan and avidly followed the bay area teams.
After the Navy, Carl met Barbara Appling. They married January 31, 1954 and they started their married life in Fresno. Carl continued his college education at Fresno State College. After college, he became an electrician and worked for Industrial Service Company in Fresno for 11 years. They moved to San Jose in 1969. He became a member of IBEW local #332 of which he was a member for 55 years. In 1972 he had back surgery that interrupted his electrical work. He became a part-time instructor for the NECA/IBEW. He loved his opportunity to teach beginning students. He often said it brought him so much joy to see "those lightbulb moments" when they understood the theory that would help mold the futures. Over 500 students began their careers with Carl. He treasured his friendships that he developed with fellow instructors and students. For over 30 years Carl made himself available to the training departments of the electrical industry. As a nationally recognized expert in Fiber Optics, he traveled all over the country to assist in training the workforce for the emerging field. Many of the classes were done as an unpaid volunteer. Such was his dedication to training. He and Barbara bought a Quik Stop Market at Cherry and Branham and operated that business from 1979-1989. They often spoke of the hard work it was but how much fun they had. They treasured the relationshipsnship they developed with their customers, delivery and sales people.
They had a dream to move to the coast and in 1991 they moved to Capitola. While in their dream location, they were campground hosts at Seacliff, Carl worked as a part-time aide for the State at Seacliff. Barbara was still working at her job in San Jose and if they talked on the phone during the day, he would often tell her he was just having another day in paradise. It was a return to his past connection to Capitola, where in 1950 he was the first Lifeguard hired by the City of Capitola. He has two commemorative bricks with his name in the sidewalk in Capitola Village, one acknowledging his lifeguard status and the other his love of Capitola. Since his full retirement from any paid job, he was active with SIRS Chapter 20, cooked for Grey Bears Holiday Dinner, a board member of his homeowners associatlion, volunteer for Dominican Hospital and served as an ad-hoc member of the current Capitola Library Committee. He played cards and dominoes on a weekly basis with friends in his mobile home park.
Family vacations were usually camping in favorite mountain and coastal areas.
He and Barbara loved to RV and did so from 1956 until 1998. They developed a passion for cruising and enjoyed many great times with family and friends on those trips. Their favorite cruise was when they repeated their 50th wedding vows sailing between New Zealand and Austrailia. They also enjoyed many great times at their timeshare with friends and family and had the greatest memories of each one of those times. You may have seen a family favorite tradition at Seacliff where they gathered with family from out of town for "Christmas on the Beach" a tradition that the family says will never stop. He loved to deepsea fish and in recent times tried fishing from his power chair on the Capitola Wharf with his son.
When he was mobile they attended Twin Lakes Church in Aptos. He was thankful for the many visits he had from church volunteers during his many hospitalizations. The family thank them for their spiritual guidance during difficult times. Also appreciated were the doctors and nurses who cared for him at Dominican Hospital, Dominican Home Health Staff who delivered such loving care and Hospice of Santa Cruz during those last two days.
Carl loved and cherished his family. His smile, love and joking ways will be a part of our daily thoughts and prayers. He is survived by his wife Barbara, daughter Caryl Powell and her husband Larry, grandchildren Carrie and Phillip Powell [all from Tracy CA], son Curtis LaMothe and his wife Dolores from Boulder Creek, nieces Wendy Johnson and Robin Ursenback and her children Jonathan and Ashley , sister-in-law Karen LaMothe. He was preceded in death by his mother Dorothy Lemke, brother Gilbert and grandson Andrew Powell.
He treasured his friends that were so much a part of his life. To remember Carl's life and relationships there will be a Celebration of Life to share memories on June 18, 2011 at Brookvale Mobile Home Park Clubhouse, 300 Plum St., Capitola, 1:00 pm. Parking is limited so carpooling would help. Additional parking is available at Hardy Insurance Lot at 500 Plum St., Capitola.
The family requests remembrances be in the form of donations to Hospice of Santa Cruz County, 1940 Disc Drive, Scotts Valley, CA 95066 or a meaningful charity close to your heart.