Carl Leroy Utegg

Carl worked as a farmer on the family dairy farm in his youth. He and his brother Frank also operated Utegg Brothers Trucking moving logs from forest to sawmill. When the dairy farm closed, Carl hired on with Dowell Oilfield Services and was transferred to Pontiac in May, 1967. Pontiac became Carl’s home and he settled here for the remainder of his life. This relocation provided a new career opportunity when Carl was hired by Pontiac Chair Company as a truck driver in 1968. Carl stayed with the company through ownership changes and the closing of Artistic Furniture in 1988. Moving from furniture to chemicals, Carl started driving for W. R. Grace, Kankakee, IL in 1988. In addition to regular driving duties, for five years, Carl was also assigned a position as driver/trainer for new employees. He remained with Grace through their ownership changes, ending his driving career at retirement in June, 1996 with Superior Carriers, Inc. Carl was a member of Teamsters Local 179 from 1968 through 1988.

Farming, tractors, and trucking remained in Carl’s blood. After retirement in 1996, he began hauling grain from the field to the elevators for Tim and Mike Killian of Lexington, IL. He retired from this vocation in 2014. Also, beginning in 1996, Carl worked as needed with William Bumpass Construction until the company closed.

Owego Township approached Carl in 1998 asking if he would accept the cemetery caretaker position for the Patty, Swygert, and Houder Cemeteries in Livingston County. He accepted and held the position for 17 years.

Carl enjoyed woodworking immensely. He designed and crafted his burial casket from locally gathered cherry that he converted into lumber. He built numerous pieces of furniture for his home, including kitchen cabinets, a kitchen island, a dining room table, and a 12-drawer storage bed with a matching mirrored five-drawer dresser. For many years, he and his late wife, Corky, tended a large family vegetable garden. Carl also added and tended flower gardens around their home. Carol and Corky took great pride in maintaining a well-kept lawn and enjoyed sharing seasonal decorations throughout the year.

Carl met Coralee “Corky” Kay Bailey in 1968. They were married on May 22, 1970 in Cullom, IL. Together, they raised two children, Gregory Eugene Utegg and Russell Clarence Utegg.

Carl is survived by children, Gregory (Christine) Utegg of Grand Ridge, IL; Russell Utegg of Bloomington; and in Pennsylvania, Coralee (Martin) Wenzel; Janet (Paul) Bevevino, Leroy Utegg, Fredrick Utegg, and Melia Schultz. He is also survived by seven grandchildren, Alyson Utegg, Melissa Utegg, Megan Utegg, Sierra Utegg, Allison Miller, Brandon Salerno, and Cayla Hoffman; four great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Carl is also survived by his sister-in-law-Patricia (Fred) Shelton of Dwight, IL.

He was preceded in death by his wife Coralee, his parents, a son, Tracy Utegg; two grandsons, Derek Smock and Lucas Rex; and his brothers, Frank, Raymon, and Floyd Utegg; and a sister, Ethel Utegg.

A graveside service will be held Saturday, January 11th at 11 a.m. at Patty Cemetery in Pontiac.