Br. Charles A. Carlon died Sept. 2, 1973 at Wincrest Nursing Home in Chicago after a long illness. He was 77 and in the 51st year of his religious life.
Br. Carlon was born Oct. 8, 1895 in Schuyler, NE, one of nine children.
He attended only grade school until he was called to the armed services in 1918 where he served in the Medical Corps. Br. Carlon saw active duty on the battle fields of France during World War I until he was discharged in May, 1919.
The young Carlon was called to religious life in 1920 and entered the novitiate at St. Viator Normal Institute in Chicago. He pronounced his first vows Feb. 2, 1922 and his final vows on Feb. 6, 1925.
Br. Carlon completed his high school courses and received credit for 20 hours of college work at St. Viator High School and College in Bourbonnais.
The next 40 years of Br. Carlon’s career found him actively engaged in a variety of ministries: procurator at the novitiate in Chamberlain, SD and in Lemont, IL; teacher at Cathedral Boys’ High School in Springfield, IL; secretary and sacristan at St. Viator Parish in Chicago; procurator at the novitiate in Arlington Heights; and staff member at Saint Viator High School and the Viatorian Villa at Pistakee Bay in McHenry, IL.
Br. Carlon’s health had never been robust, but from 1968 until his death in 1973, he required care in hospitals or nursing homes, including Wincrest Nursing Home in Chicago, where he resided the last four years of his life.
Fr. Eugene J. Lutz, CSV, delivered the homily at the vigil wake service at Theis Funeral Home in Chicago, before the Rev. Edward C. Anderson, CSV, provincial superior, celebrated his funeral Mass on Sept. 5, 1973 at St. Viator Church in Chicago and the Rev. Thomas L. Sullivan, CSV, delivered the homily.
Br. Carlon was laid to rest in the Viatorian Community plot at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, IL.
May Almighty God grant eternal rest and happiness to this good and generous religious.
Taken from the Provincial Residence Newsletter dated Sept. 27, 1973 and an unpublished biography written by Fr. William A. Harris, CSV and Fr. Daniel A. O’Connor, CSV