Carl Ashbury

E. Carl Ashbury, 64, of Dows, passed away on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 at home.

A private family service will be held at First Lutheran Church in Dows. A scattering ceremony will be held in Bermuda at a later date per Carl’s request.

Carl, son of Ervin C. and Mary E (Taylor) Ashbury, was born on April 15, 1957 at the Air Force Base in Annapolis, Maryland. Since his father was in the Air Force, Carl lived in West Virginia, Ohio, Texas, and Germany as a young child before his family settled in Elkhart, Indiana. He graduated from Elkhart Memorial High School in 1975.

After high school, Carl attended college at Indiana University before he moved to West Virginia to work for his father. Later he moved back to Elkhart, Indiana and started work at E.K. Blessings (bought by Conn-Selmer) where he worked for 32 years. He was a skilled horn buffer and took great pride in buffing the fanfare horns for the 1984 Olympics ceremonies.

In 2017, Carl moved to Dows to be closer to his family. He loved spending time with his family and friends. Being near to his grandchildren was particularly important to him and they brought him nothing but joy. He cared deeply for everyone he met and accepted people exactly as they are. This made him a great listener and counselor. He loved animals and shared his life with some amazing dogs over the years. A cat named Oreo was his last animal companion. He was passionate about learning and always wanted to be a special education teacher. There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t try to learn something new. Whether physically or mentally he was always up for an adventure, a thrill, a road trip, or a good laugh. He loved that he passed on so much of himself to his daughter and grandchildren.

In his younger years, Carl enjoyed bicycling, traveling, going on cruises, and antiquing. He loved all music but rock n’ roll was his jam. He loved muscle cars and sports. Carl was a huge Notre Dame fan but we would be remiss to not mention his love of the White Sox, Blackhawks, and Cleveland Browns as well. He loved driving fast, great food, roller coasters, going to games, concerts, pro wrestling events, cook outs, board games with his family and hanging out with his friends. Any place there was something going on with people having a good time that was where Carl wanted to be – looking and smelling like he just stepped out of GQ magazine.

Carl is survived by his daughter Beth (Dan) Hurt of Dows; grandchildren Sydney Burkholder-Nason of Forest City; Marah Burkholder of Cedar Falls, Ethan Hurt of Dows, and Matthew Hurt of Dows; great-grandson Ivan Nason; sister Irma Gibson of Gay, West Virginia; and many friends he loved dearly.

He is preceded in death by his father Ervin Ashbury; and mother and step-father Mary and Ray Farley.

www.ewingfh.com

Ewing Funeral Home

Dows, Iowa 50071

515-532-2233