CARL LEONARD HORTON was born September 16, 1923, in Hornell, New York to Leonard Sheffield Horton and Lucile (Woodward) Horton. He passed away Sunday, May 11, 2008, at Oakland Mercy Hospital, after a brief illness. Carl “Doc” was 84.

Carl spent his childhood in Hornell, NY and during high school relocated to Oak Park, Illinois. After the death of his mother, Carl and his father moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa where he graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School.

Carl met Darlene Reed on an ice skating pond in Council Bluffs while attending the University of Omaha as a pre-med/pharmacy student. A chance encounter there redirected his academic interests and he transferred to the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, Tennessee. Darlene traveled there to marry him in Hernando, Mississippi on March 31, 1946. The remnants of childhood polio made him ineligible to serve in the military during WWII.

He received his optometry degree from SCO in 1948. He practiced briefly in Tennessee and, after passing the Nebraska board exam, in Omaha. Darlene had family in Tekamah and Burt County and his first visit to Oakland made such an impression that he established his private practice there in 1950. Dr. C.L. Horton, Optometry was a Main Street fixture for the next 45 years. Carl cared for scores of patients, discovering unsuspected diabetes, detached retinas, cataracts and other ocular problems. For a number of years in the 60’s and early 70’s he expanded his practice to downtown Fremont and commuted twice a week to see patients.  

Throughout his practice Carl donated his time and expertise to the Lions Club and their efforts to combat preventable diseases of the eye. He regularly went to Oakland Heights to adjust eyewear for nursing home residents. Carl sold the practice in 1995 and retired to pursue his other passions: golf and radio-control model airplanes.

Carl loved aviation and began building model airplanes at eight years old. His childhood heroes were Wiley Post and Amelia Earhart. He built meticulous scale models of his favorite planes for 75 years. Carl was a member of the Oakland Golf Club and played regularly, scoring three holes-in-one over the years.

Carl became a Mason at 21 and twice served Oakland Lodge #91 as Worshipful Master as well as other chairs. He was recently awarded the Jordan Medal, as well as 50 and 60 year service pins. Although he never became a Shriner, Carl supported their mission to aid burned and crippled children and proudly encouraged his son-in-law’s Shrine activities. 

With generations of Methodist ministers in his family, Carl was a lifelong member of the Methodist church. He joined First Methodist in Oakland in 1950 and had been recognized as a 50-year member.

He was preceded in death by his parents; brother, Arthur and wife, Darlene.

Survivors include his daughter: Deborah L. Horton, her husband, Bruce Underwood, grandson: Noel Leonard Underwood, all of Albuquerque, New Mexico, niece: Christine (Horton) Kellam of Estes Park, CO and nephew: Arthur Horton II of Eagle River, WI.

FUNERAL SERVICE: Friday May 16, 2008, 2:00 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Oakland with Masonic Services by the Masonic Lodge No. 91, A.F. & A. M.

BURIAL: Oakland Cemetery

VISITATION: Thursday, 1-8 p.m. with the family receiving friends from 6 - 8 p.m. at Pelan Funeral Home in Oakland. Visitation will also be held Friday at the church one hour prior to the service.

MEMORIALS: Masonic Lodge No. 91 and First United Methodist Church in Oakland.

Please feel free to send your condolences to the family.
Each condolence will be printed and given to the family after the service.

pelan@pelanfuneralservices.com