Obituary of Carl Michael Sangree Jr.

Carl Sangree of Winnetka Illinois died in his sleep on April 15 at the age of 94 of natural causes. Carl died in San Diego while returning to Chicago on the last leg of his annual winter trip to Hawaii and Southern California. Carl had a life long passion for trains. His fascination with schedules and his extraordinary ability to work with numbers were well used in his job on the railroad before the time of computer-aided transit scheduling. His final place of work was for The Rock Island Railroad as a freight analyst. Carl was a bicyclist, hiker, sailor and most importantly, a worldwide traveller. He kept a small sail boat on Lake Michigan and took great pleasure mentoring young sailors. He was also an accomplished photographer. Over the years, he accumulated thousands of slides from his many train trips in different parts of the world. For the past 30 years, Carl was the official photographer for the New Trier Field Hockey team at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. He was an active member of an investment group. He also loved debating politics and economics. Carl belonged to Winnetka Bible Church (WBC) and was an enthusiastic member of the choir. He sang in many productions of Handel’s Messiah and offered the use of his harpsichord for those performances. He also served on the Congregational Life Council and Missions Committee. His heart for the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ through WBC Missions motivated him to speak up and stand by that outreach during a critical time in the history of the church. He offered wise counsel to a number of church leaders over many years. Carl Michael Sangree, Jr. was born in Torrington Connecticut on June 4, 1925 to Carl Michael Sangree, a Congregational minister and Constance LaBoiteaux Sangree . After Carl’s parents divorced when he was four years old, he developed his love for trains while travelling by rail between his father’s home in Cummington, Massachusetts and Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania where his mother lived. Carl was the second oldest of eight children. He graduated from Haverford College. His beloved wife Gail MacDonald predeceased him in 1971. His sister Joan Sangree Talbot, brothers, Walter Sangree, Harry Buttrick and Griffith Buttrick also predeceased Carl. He is survived by three brothers, John Buttrick , Hoyt Drake, Daniel Drake , many nieces and nephews and his dear Norwegian friend, Astri Platou with whom he travelled the world. Carl will be inurned in Cleveland Ohio next to his bride Gail. Life Celebration Service Wednesday May 4, 2022 at 3pm at Winnetka Bible Church, 555 Birch Street Winnetka, IL 60093