Marlyn Simon Carls Obituary (1937 - 2020)

FLANAGAN--Marlyn Simon Carls, 82, of Flanagan passed away on February 27 at the Flanagan Rehabilitation and Health Care Center. The visitation will be from 9-10:45am on Tuesday, March 3 at St. Petri Lutheran Church Flanagan, IL. with the funeral service beginning at 11am. Pastor Amy Berger will officiate. Burial will be Center Cemetery in Flanagan, IL, with Flanagan American Legion performing military rites. Calvert-Johnson & Froelich Memorial Home is assisting the family with services. Marlyn was born November 6, 1937, to Simon and Grace (Kutzner) Carls in Flanagan. He married Joyce Kuerth on July 18, 1959, in Meadows. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joyce; two children, Steven (Mary), Gridley and Susan (Alan) Rients, Minonk; five grandchildren, Amanda (Brandon) Smith, Jacob (Molly) Carls, Megan Rients, Katie Rients, and Jared Rients; and three great-grandchildren, Bryer Carls, Addison Smith, and Jed Carls. He was preceded in death by his parents, sister, brother-in-law, and one nephew. Marlyn graduated from Flanagan High School in 1956 and served in the National Guard from 1960- 1966. In 1963 he joined Flanagan Implement as a Gleaner combine technician, and later became co-owner of the business with his son in 1985. Over 34 years, until his retirement in 2019, he built a business that became an extended family of farmers, employees, and community members. Marlyn was especially proud to know that his two grandsons followed his example and joined the Flanagan Implement & Service team to continue the business into another generation. Marlyn invested in the local community, serving on the board for the Good Samaritan Home of Flanagan, St. John's Lutheran Church, and St. Petri's Lutheran Church. He was a member of Flanagan American Legion Post 456 and a former member of the Flanagan Lions Club and Flanagan-Graymont Fire Department. Marlyn will be remembered for his outstanding work ethic, his love for his family, his place on sidelines watching his son and grandsons play football, and how he never met a stranger. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Petri's Lutheran Church of Flanagan and the Flanagan American Legion Post 456