Carl Engstrom, 54, of Avondale Estates, GA passed away suddenly on March 2, 2021.
Carl leaves to cherish his memories his wife of 17 years, Shannon; his mother, Anhild; two sons, Dean and Greg; two granddaughters, Chloe and Ansley; siblings, Mark, Cindy and Denice; sister-in-law, Carrie; nieces, Catherine, Liz, Brittany, Morgan, Josie and Gertie; nephews, Richard, Michael, Zach and Nate; goddaughter, Ava, along with a host of other loving relatives and friends. Carl is preceded in death by his father, Dennis; grandmother, Gigi; Great Auntie Rita and brother-in-law, John.
In 1985, Carl joined the United States Air Force first based in the United Kingdom and served 4 years as an Avionics Mechanic troubleshooting the flight line and maintaining the F-111 fighter/bomber aircraft. Carl helped develop software to facilitate this work and, as a result, earned commendations from his commanding officer. This ignited Carl with a passion for creating software that made a difference in people’s everyday lives. Shortly after his enlistment, he began working for Delta Air Lines as a flight line mechanic responsible for maintaining and certifying airworthiness of Delta’s domestic fleet. While working as a mechanic, he created a graphical user interface to integrate key terminal applications. This work captured the attention of Delta’s IT department and earned him a software engineering position, where his career in software officially began. Carl excelled beyond his responsibilities and created a software tool for Delta employees that allowed them to check passenger flight loads and list themselves on standby lists for flights reservations. This program was foundational in the tool Delta employees use today. Carl spent 7 years at Delta, then went on to work as a Senior Software Engineer at Caldwell-Spartin, Inc. and later as a Software Architect & Development Manager at MedQuist. Carl later formed his own software company named TechVirtue, LLC.
Carl earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science (with honor) at Georgia State University. Carl also held an Associate’s Degree in Applied Science from the Community College of the Air Force.
Beyond Carl’s appreciation of emerging technologies and software, he loved all things Chicago (his birthplace and the place he called home for many years)…deep dish pizza, Wrigley Field, the Chicago Bears, the Chicago Cubs, Christmas time family gatherings. Carl also loved gadgets of all kinds (power/wood-working tools, pocket multi-tools, flashlights and extra strong magnets rank high on that list). Carl spent many evenings playing his Baby Grand piano – one of his most cherished possessions. He had an ongoing thirst for knowledge and never stopped trying to learn new things. He recently ordered 3 new Smithsonian books on world history. For Carl, this was enjoyable, “light” reading. His other favorite pastimes were science fiction books/movies and playing games with family and friends – Boggle, Chess, domino/card games, Backgammon, Scrabble, Exploding Kittens with his granddaughters, and the list goes on. Carl passionately loved his country, and he was extremely proud of the U.S. for landing the Perseverance Rover on Mars. He watched numerous specials about this historic event. Carl will most be remembered for his deep knowledge on a wide range of topics, his witty sense of humor, his contagious laugh and hilarious jokes.
A memorial service celebrating Carl’s life will be scheduled for a later date.
In lieu of flowers and in acknowledgment of Carl’s struggle with depression over the years, donations may be sent to The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at https://afsp.org
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