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Obituary for Carl William Hexamer, II
Born July 7, 1935 in Newark NJ to Carl Hexamer and Kay (Reiber). Carl attended public schools in Hillside and Manasquan New Jersey. His early years included summers at the Jersey Shore with his family and lifetime friends. As a teenager he worked as a member of the Manasquan Lifeguard squad and as a stage hand and extra at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn NJ. He also drove race cars at Wall Stadium in NJ. He attended Lafayette College in Pennsylvania as a freshman (which he enjoyed a little too much) and then tried his hand as a used car salesman of foreign cars. Although his career was short, his love of all things British was sparked. Not making a go of it, he joined the US Army. He was stationed in San Antonio Texas as a drill instructor and later relocated to Valley Forge hospital as a medic. Carl married Rita Betz and moved to Pluckeman NJ, where they attended the Pluckeman Presbyterian Church. He eventually became a deacon!
In 1960, Carl started his Johns Manville career in Manville, NJ, as a property tax clerk. He returned to Rutgers and earned his bachelor of science degree. By the late 60's he and Rita began raising their two children, Beth Louise and Brian Carl. Not forgetting his love of cars, he became involved with Model As and even became a president of the Model A club of NJ. Not long after that, the opportunity to move to Colorado arose when JM decided to move its headquarters. The family moved to Sedalia and began enjoying the Colorado lifestyle. Carl was involved in the income tax aspects of the company's relocation efforts and traveled back and forth extensively the first couple of years.
Eventually Carl remarried, this time to Tania Dudnikow in 1979 and settled in Littleton Colorado. Carl continued to work for Johns Manville. He belonged to several employee organizations including the company bowling and softball leagues and was a member of the fire brigade at the HQ's building on the Ken Caryl ranch. The JM credit union appointed him as an officer and board member. Here in Colorado, his car hobby turned to 1960s Buick Rivieras.
In 1985 he retired from JM at 50 and went to work for Ideal Basic Cement Company headquartered in downtown Denver and traveled extensively for his new property taxes job. His next career involved his true passion for cars when, until 1992, he worked as a service manager for Firestone in Bergen Park. In 1993 he married again, this time to Mary Headstream (Messman). Together, they purchased a home in Lakewood and then enjoyed 25 years together. In his retirement Carl enjoyed buying, selling and showing classic cars while spending his summers at his beloved beach house in Manasquan. He began bowling in several leagues, traveling around the country to attend jazz concerts, attending Bronco games (with tailgating), sightseeing, doing family history searches in Germany, and enjoying sailing vacations in the Caribbean. He was an avid fan of NASCAR racing and enjoyed watching them throughout this last year.
He was a kid at heart and liked to say that he never got out of his 19th year. All and all he had a wonderfully full and rich life. Carl passed on April 8th, 2018 at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife Mary, daughter Beth, son Brian, and granddaughter Kacy Leyba.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests Carl's favorite charities:
Denver Street School PO Box 144069 Denver CO 80214 www.denverstreetschool.org
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Wounded Warrior Project
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Flying Wheels Foundation (Colorado State Patrol Family Foundation)
