Jack H. Carstensen

Jack H. Carstensen

Cedar Rapids

Jack H. Carstensen of Cedar Rapids passed away on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023. A Funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 19, at St. Matthew Catholic Church. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home from 4 to 6:30 p.m., with a vigil service at 4:15 p.m. Burial: Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery.

One month after Jack and Pat were married, Jack was drafted into the U.S. Army. After basic training at Fort Riley, Kan., they moved on to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind., where Jack attended the U.S. Army Finance School. Next, he was stationed at Fort Campbell on the Kentucky-Tennessee border, and then at the Edgewood Chemical Center in Baltimore, M.D. He finished his army career with the rank of sergeant.

After serving his country, Jack returned to Clinton in 1955, where he went to work with the family business that his father started, Carstensen Freight Lines, Inc. He managed the Transfer and Storage Business and subsequently became vice president of the company. During his career, he served as president of the lowa Warehousemen’s Association and on the executive board of the Iowa Motor Truck Association. His volunteer efforts included serving on the Wapsie YMCA Board; working on behalf of St. Matthew School; coaching his kids and many others; and serving as the first president of the Regis High School Booster Club and on Regis’s Parental Advisory Committee. Other organizations and institutions that benefited from Jack’s efforts included Camp Courageous, Jaycees, Clinton Country Club and Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids and the Belden Court Homeowners Association Board.Jack’s leisure love was playing golf with his “same age” buddies and partaking in their famous noon lunches at the Starlite ”Country Club.” Jack was always ready and eager to visit the children–and the children’s children–and never tired of watching more school sports. An avid follower of the news and current events, Jack could always be counted on to have a point of view on an extensive range of topics. His calm demeanor made him a steady rock for those around him.

Even as his body grew weary in his later years and final months, he could regale a grandkid with a tale about the Chicago Cubs and rarely missed the opportunity to watch an Iowa basketball or football game, side by side with Patricia.

Jack was preceded in death by his daughter, Kris; granddaughter, Kira; parents, Olivia and Detlef; sister, Judy; and brother, David.

Survivors include his brothers, James and Richard Carstensen, Clinton; his six children; 14 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.

We would like to thank all the people, especially the nurses and Mercy care staff, who helped make end-of-life care for our father as peaceful as possible. A special thank you to Hospice House. Please leave a message for the family on our website www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.

A luncheon will be served at St. Matthew’s Keran Hall after the burial service.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in honor of Jack to the following organizations:

Camp Courageous, 12007 190th St., Monticello, IA 52310; or the Dennis & Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy, 315 18th Ave., Hiawatha, IA 52233.