Carl C. Echols

With sadness, our family announces the passing of our beloved Hometown Hero Carl Carlton Echols on June 3, 2014. The last of eight siblings, Carl was born to Lester and Lillian Echols on March 3, 1917 in Gadsden, Alabama. In 1918 father Lester died of the Spanish Flu and on the same day Carl's sister died in a house fire after she ran back to save baby Carl. After that tragedy, the family moved to Hoboken, New Jersey, but Carl was ultimately raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After joining the Navy in 1936, and while stationed in Long Beach, Carl met his love, Margaret, at a YMCA dance in San Pedro. They married in 1940 and began their 73 years together. He was assigned to the USS Lexington which departed from Pearl Harbor just days before its bombing. Carl survived the ship's sinking during the Battle of Coral Sea and then went on to become a Naval aviator. After retiring from the Navy in 1957, Carl, Margaret and their 5 children relocated to Southern California. He began his second career as an insurance agent and finally retired in 1982. Very recently Carl was honored by Mayor Frank Scotto and the Torrance City Council as a Torrance Home Town Hero for his military service during WWII. Carl's banner can currently be seen on El Prado very near Torrance High School. Carl was a man of great integrity and honor, proud of his faith, his country, and his family. Left to mourn his passing are his wife, Margaret, daughters Carol McHale, Peggy Stoker, Laura Walleman, and Kathleen Stevens, eleven grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren. His son Ronald, Palos Verdes Estates police sargeant, predeceased him in 1999. Carl always said he would live to be 100. Daddy, you almost made it. Funeral services followed by a Naval Honor Guard Ceremony will be held on Monday June 9, 1:00pm at Green Hills Memorial Park.

Funeral Home:
Green Hills Mortuary and Memorial Chapel
27501 S.Western Ave.
Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
US 90275