CARL L. PENZEL

JACKSON, Mo. -- Mr. Carl L. Penzel, a prominent builder of highways and commercial buildings, passed away Tuesday, July 4, 2000, at the age of 91, at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau.

Mr. Penzel was born Sept. 21, 1908, in San Antonio, Texas, son of the late Linus and Mathilda Kies Penzel. On April 19, 1931, he married the former Mettie Jane Killian.

Loving survivors include his wife, Mettie; twin son and daughter, Gene Penzel of Jackson and Jane Hebenstreit of St. Louis; two grandsons, Phil and Chris Penzel of Jackson; a granddaughter, Melody Ellington of Fenton; and five great-grandchildren, Ashley Greifzu, Andrea and Allison Penzel, Conner and Courtney Penzel.

He was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Vicki Greifzu.

Mr. and Mrs. Penzel had been residents of Jackson since their marriage in 1931; Mr. Penzel since 1910. He received his college education at Washington University, Central Wesleyan College, and Southeast Missouri State University, graduating in 1930, when he also began his employment as a superintendent with Linus Penzel Construction Co., owned by his father.

From 1937-54 he was a partner in the company, and in 1954 he became owner of Penzel Construction Co. From 1959 through retirement in 1981, he served as president and general manager of Penzel Construction Co. Inc.

Mr. Penzel was a lifelong devoted member of Emanuel United Church of Christ in Jackson, where he served on the church board, was a former president and church treasurer, and built and operated its sound system many years.

Mr. Penzel's construction interest and curiosity spurred his design of a process of precasting exposed aggregate panels face down, weighing up to eight tons, for the KFVS building in Cape Girardeau, and the design of an electric heating system to cure concrete bridge floors in winter.

In the early 1970s he produced two books as a result of his thorough study of the flooding caused by Walker and Cape LaCroix Creeks. The books are on file at the city clerk's office and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce Office.

Because of Mr. Penzel's sincere dedication to the community, he served on numerous boards, committees and associations, some of which include Jackson R-2 School Board, Cape Girardeau County Parks and Recreation Commission, Southeast Missouri Hospital Board of Directors, former First Exchange Bank Board, Missouri State Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, SEMO Contractors Association, Associated General Contractors of Missouri Board of Directors, Jackson Theater Group, and Excelsior Lodge 441.

Mr. and Mrs. Penzel are also well-known for their establishment of Pine Crest, a garden located between Millersville and Oak Ridge, which has now been acclaimed by the Indiana Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society as the largest in the Midwest.

Friends may call Thursday, July 6, from 4-8 p.m. at McCombs Funeral Home in Jackson.

Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Friday, July 7, at the funeral home, followed by interment in Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery. The Rev. Sam Roethemeyer will officiate.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the Carl L. Penzel Memorial Educational Trust Fund, Bank of America, 2001 William Street, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63703.