CARL CLIFFORD KELKER

     It’s with a heavy heart to announce the passing of Carl Clifford Kelker on Sunday, July 21, 2024 after a long & full life. Born on November 14, 1924, he grew up in Akron, OH & enlisted a couple of years after graduating from high school.  He loved his country and served proudly in the United States Army for 24 years from 6.9.42 to 7.31.66 spanning World War II (WWII), the Korean Conflict, & Vietnam.  He attained the rank of SFC E-7, (Sergeant First Class is the seventh enlisted rank (E-7), ranking above staff sergeant (E-6) & below master sergeant & first sergeant (E-8), & is the first non-commissioned officer rank designated as a senior non-commissioned officer (SNCO).  A soldier typically has 15-18 years of military service before being promoted to Sergeant first Class.  The SFC acts as the platoon leader’s key assistant & advisor & is sometimes referred to as the platoon sergeant.  E7 is a good rank in all the United States armed services.  Keeping busy, he later applied these skills in the next chapter of employment.

     After retiring from the military, he was employed as a Juvenile Officer at Jamesburg Juvenile Detention Center for Boys for 20 years before retiring.  (The NJ Training School was one of the oldest, most antiquated youth prisons in the nation and closed its gates in 2018).  Carl was a loving and devoted husband of the late Hildegard Preuss, predeceased in 2005 & their only child, son Mark in 2019.  It was love at first sight when he saw her in the Berlin square during a Hitler rally.  A true love story as he vowed to find this woman again, the love of his life, as she disappeared into the crowd that day, profess his intentions and promise that she’d never have to work.  She was a Homemaker; always cooking, baking, gardening their many fruit trees, taking care of their son & holding typical German coffee klatches at the house.  They were married on December 5, 1953, until her passing August 24, 2005.

     Settling in Browns Mills NJ, Carl was a hard-working individual, fully committed to whatever the job. Whether as a Vietnamese Advisor soldier in the military while serving under General Patton or learning how to ski, by spending Saturdays in Switzerland as he told it, in case Russia were to attack Alaska.  He loved to go on vacation and spend time with family and friends. His passion was where he retired and spent many years enjoying the laid back atmosphere and he loved all types of animals.  He & his wife had owned a German Shephard, Sheila, & after her, a Doberman Pinscher, Thor.  But he especially loved hummingbirds.  He couldn’t wait until the first signs of spring when his beloved feathered friends would start showing up at his sun room window letting him know they had arrived for the summer and it was time for him to tend to their nectar feedings.  He would see them daily, morning to evening, spring to fall once the weather warmed & stayed constant for their visit to his feeder off the back of the sunroom.

     Carl was a generous, loving, religious and thoughtful soul. His life was all about service to his fellow man.  He had a kind heart & always left an unforgettable impression on anyone who met and knew him.  He was a man of high morals and integrity, and a sharp dresser. He enjoyed spending time with his family and living in New Jersey. He cherished his family and friends and always would put a smile on your face with his humor and wit. He was constantly aware of the beauty of all forms of life around him. No living creature escaped his curiosity, attention and love.  His enthusiasm and quest for knowledge which he loved to share and discuss with all was boundless. Carl’s hobbies were reading, traveling, being involved with the Senior Citizen’s Center and an occasional military activity.  As a couple devoted to the Protestant faith, they became parishioners at the Dix Chapel, Joint Base McGuire, Dix, Lakehurst, their weekly participation as church ushers in which he & his wife were recognized and honored for 50+ years of service.  Activities ranged from weekly movie watching at the base theatre, bi-monthly day bus trips with the local Senior Citizen’s Center which took them to Atlantic City cruises & casinos, the infamous Sight and Sound theatre shows to name one, (presenting bible stories to life through spectacular staging), in Lancaster, PA; various other trips to different Farmer’s Markets, various themed dances for Valentine’s & St. Patrick’s Day, Senior Prom and even wineries.  Physically keeping active, swimming and walking with his wife several times a week for exercise was a given.  They did everything together, even watching football games downstairs in the basement on Sundays after church.  She was the ideal home maker.  Then there were the trips to Germany every other year to visit his wife’s family, and once even attended the well-known, 400 century old Christ Passion Play in the heart of Bavaria, Oberammergau which is performed only once every ten (10) years.  

     Carl was preceded in death by his parents Equilla & Regina Kelker; brothers David, Rudolph, Roland, Preston, & Ernest Kelker.  He is survived by brother DeJuan Kelker, Sr., & sister Regina Gladman, & special niece Cynthia Muahiri of Akron, OH.  He leaves to mourn, cherish & celebrate his legacy of memories along with a host of other nieces & nephews, from Ohio & the West Coast.  Along with his Dix Chapel Joint Base MDL Church family; Browns Mills Senior Citizen’s Center family, & a host of other friends; & special friends George Waters, David & Debby Tellers, Thuan Domski, Deborah Yvonne Evans & Hamlet Bey from the East Coast.

     A service honoring the life of Mr. Kelker will be held on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at The Lankenau Funeral Home, 370 Lakehurst Road, Browns Mills, NJ 08015. Viewing from 11am to 12 noon, Funeral service from 12 noon to 1:00pm, & Interment is 2:00pm at Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 350 Provinceline Rd., Arneytown, N. Hanover Twp. NJ 08562.

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