Carl Dewey Obituary

Carl W. Dewey, age 71, passed away Thursday, April 27 at Heart to Heart Family Home, where he had been living since Jan. He died from complications of Alzheimer's. Carl was born October 16,1951 to Juanita and Herman Dewey in Tulsa OK where he joined his brother Gary. Carl grew up in that area and enjoyed playing baseball and was on the swim team at East Central High. As a family they did camping trips and rockhounding adventures. Carl was a Boy Scout and obtained the rank of Life. Carl went to Oklahoma State University where he received his BS in Mechanical Engineering with an Aeronautical major. He joined ROTC while at college, which led him into the Air Force. He joined the Air Force in 1974 and took training for a Navigator. He did more training to become an Electronic Warfare Officer at Mather AFB in Sacramento, CA. During the second part of his training he met Jody at JOC Night (Junior Officer Club) on February 28, 1975 and they danced all night. Carl headed for water survival training the same time Jaws came out. Jody was not pleased. They were married September 5, 1975 in Nooksack, WA, Jody's home town. Carl left immediately for Fort Worth, TX for his first duty assignment at Carswell AFB. Jody was not able to get transferred till after Thanksgiving. During this time Carl picked out their first home. While they were living in Ft. Worth, they had a house built for them. Carl flew on the B52 bombers. He was on two different crews that received the honor of Crew of the Year for the Air Force. He made it to England on training missions twice. While the crews were different each time, he was the only one to go both times. The Commanding officer said he earned it. Carl enjoyed talking about his time in the Air Force. During their time in Ft. Worth TJ and Patrick were born. They were able to make trips up to Tulsa to see his family 3 to 4 times a year. Carl pushed Jody to go back to school once she got out of the Air Force and got her BS in Nursing. He was very supportive, even helping to type up her papers. While in Texas Carl worked with a Boy Scout Troop for several years. He got out of the Air Force in 1981 because he was tired of doing alert duty every 2 to 3 weeks. Carl moved his family to Mesa, AZ where he went to work for Singer-Link out on Williams AFB. He worked on simulators for several different airplanes. The team there designed the simulator for the U2. Carl was proud of that accomplishment. They liked to do sight seeing around the area. Carl managed to keep Jody there for three years, she had given him just two years to move some place cooler. That some place ended up being Washington state where he went to work for the Boeing Company. At this point Carl and Jody decided God has a good sense of humor. Jody was glad she would never have to see Taxas again after "basic training" there. Carl had said he was never going to live in Washington after his survival training at Fairchild, and he was never going to work for Boeing. He worked for Boeing for 34 years, retiring in 2017. They built a house in Maple Valley on some acreage. With the help of Jody's dad they were able to start clearing it. Russell came along about two years after the move to Washington. Carl started Cub Scouts with TJ and soon it was a family affair. From Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts, the whole family was involved. Everyone became members of the Order of the Arrow with Carl getting his Vigil honor. Carl did Junior Leader Training, Wood Badge, went on to do staffing, and received his third bead. He did adult leader training at Philmont Scout Camp in New Mexico. He took Jody and Russell with him on these two trips. He went to summer camps with the boys, helped with Camporees, and was even in charge of several of them. When in Cubs he was Pack Leader and was always trying to find ways to keep the pack meetings fun. In the Boy Scout Troop he was Assistant Scoutmaster. He was able to take Patrick and some other scouts and dads on a 50 mile canoe trip to Bowron lakes. He regretted not being able to do something like that with the other two boys. In the 19 years of scouting he got several awards for his volunteer work. His biggest reward was all three of his boys getting their Eagle rank. After Russell got out of scouting, Carl joined Jody in horseback riding, which surprised everyone. He got himself a Tennessee Walker, Sierra. She took good care of Carl and taught him a lot. Together Jody and Carl joined Backcountry Horsemen. He jumped right in, holding positions in the club, going on work parties and taking training courses. He even left Jody at home and went on overnight rides-work parties. His second horse Dusty was also a good husband safe horse and Carl and Jody rode together a lot during these years. The Dewey household was never short on animals and Carl had his favorites. He picked up a long haired chihuahua, Mickey, from the pound. They bonded fast. Mickey was with Carl whenever he could be. He took that dog to obedience training and to agility, which they both loved. Later, when Jody brought home some half wild kittens, TigerLily became his. Between working, kids, scouts, and Backcountry Horsemen, Carl and Jody traveled a lot. Once Patrick moved to Arizona they were down there at least once a year. Carl made a mistake and asked Jody what she wanted as a souvenir on a trip up to Whistler BC, and she said she wanted to ride a horse. He didn't understand, but he went along with it. After that there was often a horseback ride on their trips for Jody in exchange for ziplining for Carl. They took a cruise to New Zealand and Australia, and several to Alaska. They enjoyed going to Disney World several times and even made it to Dollywood. Carl liked to tell that when on a trip to Texas he was able to ride the horse that belonged to the director of the movie Hildago. Carl got Jody scuba diving and snorkeling in Hawaii and then on to snorkel the Great Barrier Reef. Jody took Carl on a hot air balloon ride in Arizona for his birthday one year. For another birthday she got him a ride on a B17, WWII boomer. Carl also made time for looking for "rocks" and petrified wood. He learned how to gold pan in Alaska and taught kids in New Zealand how to do it. Carl even tried his hand at making a few things with rocks, (mostly belt buckles) following in his Mom and Dad's footsteps. Things were not always easy, but Carl and Jody always managed to work things out and celebrated their 47 anniversary in September 2022. Carl loved to tell stories and jokes. He had a uniquesense of humor, he was an engineer after all. He would laugh at his own jokes. He did say he would rather laugh than cry. Carl is survived by wife, Jody; son, TJ; daughter-in-law, Vanessa; granddaughters Kiera and Charli; son, Patrick; daughter-in-law, Rachell; grandsons, Noah, Rylan, and Skyler; son, Russell; and grandson, Jericho; brother, Gary; sister-in-law, Karen; nephew, Todd; and nieces, Beth and Maryann. Carl was preceded in death by his sister, Kathy; nephew, Mike; mother, Juanita; and father, Herman. Funeral services will be 1:00, June 1 , 2023. at the Tahoma National Cemetery Instead of flowers Please donate to: Boy Scouts of America through Chief Seattle Council Please Note for "Carl Dewey Memorial Fund" Or Backcountry Horsemen, Washington, Tahoma Chapter