Carl Vincent Bragg
March 12, 1931 – December 11, 2016
Carl Vincent Bragg was born on March 12, 1931, to Sarah I. Neff and John R. Bragg in Ameagle, W.V. He was the youngest of three boys. His older brothers were Wallace Anthony Bragg and John Paul Bragg. Carl passed away at the age of 85 on Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, after a brief illness at Manor House Hospice Care Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif. He was surrounded by his loving wife Willeen and their children John, Carla, Cathy, Bob and Brian and even two granddaughters, Heather Cerrillo White and Rhiannan Bragg.
When Carl was a young boy his father packed the family up and left the coal mines of West Virginia for the opportunities of southern Idaho. Carl attended grade school, junior high school and high school in Eden, Idaho where he excelled in all sports.
Carl married his childhood sweetheart Willeen Mae Weaver on Oct. 6, 1947. As young newlyweds with a small child they worked and struggled as most young couple do. It was during this time that he started his career in agriculture. During those early years he spend many summers in California and Texas inspecting for the Department of Agriculture and worked at various warehouses during the winter months supervising, inspecting tending and selling various crops.
In 1965 he decided to move his family to the Moses Lake area. He brought his vast knowledge and experience with potatoes from southern Idaho to the Columbia Basin in Washington. He worked at several potato processing plants in the area until his semi-retirement in 1988. At that time, Carl and Willeen purchased a seed potato cutting business from their friend Neil Gwynn. They operated C&W Potato Services custom cutting seed potatoes for area farmers for 26 years until they sold it in 2014.
Carl enjoyed 24 wonderful years at their winter home in Desert Center, Calif, where they were members of the Lake Tamarisk Golf Club. Dad enjoyed traveling. He and Mom went to Hawaii and Mexico and took a road trip across the United States. He enjoyed Branson, Mo. and the Football Hall of Fame. He enjoyed many deep sea fishing adventures on the Washington coast and in Alaska. He was proud of the fact that they had golfed over 100 courses in their travels.
Dad and Mom were original season ticket holders for the Seattle Seahawks. He loved the Seahawks and was so happy that he got to live long enough to see them win a Super Bowl. He loved watching basketball and especially the Cavaliers.
Carl was a member of the Moses Lake Country Club, the Elks Lodge and the Sage Hills Golf Course. He loved playing cards with his buddies at Papa’s and in California. He loved casinos and his favorite one was Red Rook in Las Vegas. Carl was very honest and an old school kind of man. His word and a handshake meant everything to him. He will be greatly missed.
Carl is survived by his wife of 69 years, Willeen Mae Weaver Bragg; his sons John William Bragg, Robert Warren Bragg and Brian Carl Bragg; two daughters Carla Gutierrez and her spouse Roland and daughter Cathy Bragg Cerrillo. His brother John Paul Bragg of Spokane, Wash.; 11 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother and father, his oldest brother Wallace Anthony Bragg, grandson Sean Patrick McMullen and great-grandson Dayne Anthony White.
At Carl’s request there will not be a service held for him at this time. We will have a private service and memorial for him in the spring at Galen Summit in Idaho as he wished.