Carl E Prinzing

On June 18th at approximately 9:30 pm in Anchorage, Alaska, Carl E. Prinzing was called home to the Lord after having a brain bleed stroke. He has spent the last few days surrounded and cared for by family. His passing was peaceful and pain free. 

 Carl was born in Great Falls, MT on December 19, 1946, to Walter and Gladys Prinzing (Walstad). He enjoyed the life of a hardworking, large family whose livelihood centered on a farm in Power, MT. He was a well-rounded student and athlete. He attended Montana State University, where he was a highly active student, studying history and political science, a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity (serving as President his senior year), student government, and Air Force ROTC program. Every break was spent back home helping manage the family farm. Carl graduated in 1968. 

 In 1967, while on a philanthropic trip to Puerto Rico for the International Encampment for Citizenship, Carl met Casandra Cuevas from New York. Despite the vast distance between them, their relationship blossomed, and they were married on December 19, 1970. They had two children, Jason Erik (1973) and Lisette Renee (1976). They were married until 1984. 

 Professionally, Carl wore many hats, working in construction in Great Falls and moving his family to Butte, MT to start his own business in 1976. Quality Craft Masonry successfully led a diverse number of construction projects in Butte and western Montana. A few years later, Carl grew tired of construction. A born salesperson and natural ‘people person’, Carl began a career at Monty White Subaru in Butte, earning salesperson of the month honors multiple times. In 1987 he moved to Missoula, where he continued his career at Bitterroot Motors, again earning numerous salesperson honors and later managing the Ford division. Carl then became a realtor, becoming a top salesperson and winning Rookie Realtor of the Year. He later became a broker and started his own real estate office.

 In 1991, he met Carolyn Stewart. Their love quickly grew, and they were engaged just before Christmas. They were married on April 18, 1992, with Carl becoming a stepfather to Chad and Dirk Stewart. Carl and Carolyn were married for 32 years, until his passing. It was a life filled with travel, service, and adventure. They served the Lord faithfully and were heavily involved in their church, later helping to plant a new church and serving as a crucial part of its leadership. For over 30 years, Carl was a longstanding member of Missoula Sunrise Rotary, serving as President from 1999 – 2000 and back-to-back terms as Montana District Governor from 2003 – 2005. During this time, they participated in a wide variety of charitable projects, including building playgrounds and bicycles for children in need, delivering wheelchairs to people with disabilities in Peru, the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) camp program, and the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. 

 Carl was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Gladys, Murray (older brother), Bonnie, Vonnie, and Beverly (older sisters), and Andrew (younger brother). He is survived by his wife, Carolyn, children Jason and Lisette (husband Ben), stepchildren Chad (wife Amy) and Dirk (wife Jill), and siblings Gary, Joyce, and Susan. He is also greatly missed by grandchildren Alex (Jason); Brady, Evan, and Gabrielle (Lisette); Dathan and Kacy (Chad); and Silas, Asa, and Rayna (Dirk).

 On August 10th, a celebration of life for Carl will be held at Grace Gospel Church (1601 S. 6th Street, Missoula) at 11 am, with a reception to follow upstairs. Carl’s favorite color was blue, and we invite everyone to wear something blue in his honor. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to Missoula Sunrise Rotary (Prinzing RYLA and Peace Park Fund Donations) or Grace Gospel Church. The service will be livestreamed for those unable to attend at https://www.facebook.com/GGCmissoula.