Obituary of Carl A. Elder

Carl A. Elder, 85, passed away on Monday, Nov. 21, 2016, after a short illness. Memorial service: 1:30 P.M. Tuesday, Nov. 29, at Gambrell Street Baptist Church, 1616 W. Gambrell St., Fort Worth. Dr. Jim Spivey, pastor, will conduct the service. Reception will follow at the church in Maston Hall. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Gambrell Street Baptist Church or B.H. Carroll Theological Institute, 6500 N. Belt Line Road, #100, Irving, Texas, 75063. The family and friends of Carl A. Elder pay tribute to his wonderful life. Carl dedicated his life to the service of God, his family and countless others. He was a preacher from the age of 16. He has left a legacy of lives he touched around the world, churches he pastored in North Texas, Ohio and Alaska, and several churches he helped to start in Texas. He worked for the Baptist General Convention of Texas as a consultant for new church starts, bivocational ministry and smaller churches. There are inadequate words to describe the faithfulness and hard work he gave to his calling as a Gospel minister. He always offered hospitality to the stranger. If you were fortunate enough for him to have greeted you in any public place, he would have asked how you were doing and about your family, maybe offered a prayer and when he left you, in his mind he had made a new friend and certainly you would have felt special. It's just who he was. When it came to his family, the joy of his life, he simply loved us. He prayed daily for nothing but the best in our lives and offered his blessing. For these gifts, we, his family are incredibly fortunate to have had him as husband, father, granddad, great-granddad and brother. Survivors: He is survived by his loving wife and companion of 63 years, Wynona Elder; children, Mona Figueroa, Carla Perry (husband, Charles) and Mark Elder; grandchildren, Heather Bennett, Cory Hall, Chris Perry, Clinton Perry, Cameron Perry, Anthony Elder and Steven Elder; great-grandchildren, Connor Bennett, Sawyer Bennett, Noah Hall and Landry Perry; brothers, Dr. Lloyd Elder and Doyle Elder; and sister, Faye Reach. Other survivors include many relatives and a host of friends.