In Memory
Carl Clinton Douglas
Oct. 14, 1949 - Mar. 14,1999
Carl Clinton Douglas, 49, was born on Oct. 14, 1949, in South Bend, Ind., to his loving parents, Juanita Thomas Douglas and Carl Clinton Doug-las, Sr.
Carl graduated from La-Salle High School. He was employed by the Colfax Cultural Center.
For many years he was a devoted member of Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church. He was an outstanding example of courteous behavior he displayed to others, and of love and devotion he showed to his mother.
Carl expired on Sunday, March 14, in Saint Joseph's Regional Medical Center, South Bend.
He leaves behind a loving mother, Mrs. Juanita Douglas; two sisters, Vaudra Caldwell of Atlanta, Ga., and Sharon Munlin of South Bend; a nephew, Randall Caldwell of Chicago, Ill.; four nieces, Valerie Caldwell of St. Louis, Mo., LaDonna A. Munlin of Indianapolis, Ind., Sonia K. Bibbs and Tonia B. Munlin, both of South Bend; four great-nephews and a great-niece.
Visitation will be at 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today, with funeral services at Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church at 1 p.m. Burial will be in Highland Cemetery.
The Clark-O'Neal Funeral Home is handling arrangements.
His smile was never guarded
NewspaperMarch 23, 1999 | South Bend Tribune (IN)
Author: Bill Moor | Page: C1 | Section: family
573 Words | Readability: Lexile: 1070, grade level(s): 7 8 9
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Carl Douglas could make a little girl feel like a princess ... a senior citizen feel like a sage ... and everyone feel safe in his shadow.
He worked night security at the Colfax Cultural Center and one of his labors of love was escorting the Southold Dance Theater's young performers from their parents' car to the front door of the building.
He made it more like a light-hearted skip than a scamper--a scamper for cover.
This was downtown South Bend, after all, and far from the suburbs where many of the dancers called home.
Carl Douglas, a handsome, black gentleman, stuck a happy face on the near westside neighborhood and turned unfamiliar territory into a less threatening atmosphere.
Don Stikeleather once wrote in the notebook out in the Cultural Center's lobby that Carl was the link between the minivans from Granger and the grit of the urban side of South Bend.
Gladys Muhammad, the associate director of the South Bend Heritage Foundation, repeated that tribute last Thursday.
Tears were in her eyes when she read them. She spoke at Carl's funeral last Thursday where hundreds of people from all walks of life came to honor a man who made a living looking after others while always looking on the bright side.
"With so much racial tension in our society today, Carl was so good at breaking through all that and just enjoying other people--whether they rode by on a bicycle or came in a BMW," said Mary Hendriksen, whose 14-year-old daughter Elise dances with Southold.
He knew the neighborhood kids and the dancers and was there for both. He never married and so, in some ways, they were his kids--all different but treated with the same fondness.
"While getting to know the kids who were involved, Carl became very interested in the arts," said Bonnie Baxter, the artistic director for Southold. "So we knew he wasn't doing well when he wasn't able to make it to our last Nutcracker performance."
Instead, many of the young dancers came to see him one more time and honor him at his funeral. "My daughter Kirsten said it was the happiest funeral she has ever been to," said Marijke Niles. "That's because everyone was sharing all the heart-warming stories about Carl."
Most of the tears already had been shed anyway. "My 9-year-old daughter Sadie just sat on the couch and cried when the news finally soaked in,' said Mary Owen, a dance teacher at Southold. "Carl always made her--and everyone else--feel special."
"To call him a security guard doesn't do justice for what he did," added Mary Hendriksen. "He had a gift with people."
Many of the women who dropped off their kids three and four times a week would often wonder why some lucky woman hadn't won Carl over. They kidded him about it from time to time and, of course, he would kid them back.
"He was a handsome man with a wonderful smile and I just loved to hear him laugh," Baxter said.
"I called him 'Mr. Clean,' " added Owen. "He could talk about anything, too--politics, morality, the arts, kids ... Just an interesting man."
Many people visited him during his last few months as the cancer he battled slowly wore out his body, if not his spirit. He was 49 when he died.
Heaven should be a familiar place to him. His angels already danced for him on earth.
E-mail Bill Moor at bmoor@sbtinfo.com or write him at the South Bend Tribune, 225 W. Colfax Ave., South Bend, Ind., 46626.
03/15/2021 DEC
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