Respected business executive, community and church leader, and our beloved Papa, Carl Don Edelen passed away in Conroe, Texas on April 18, 2021 at the age of 90. Born on July 10, 1930 in Mead, Okla. to parents Lois and Cecil Edelen, Don grew up in Pauls Valley, Okla. with brothers Dean and Bob. He served in the US Air Force from 1951-53. A lifelong Sooner, Don graduated from Oklahoma University with a BBA in Accounting in 1956 and moved to Houston where he began a long and loyal career with Humble Oil and Refinery. Here he met, married, and began a beautiful 63 year journey together with fellow Oklahoman and soulmate Joetta Goins.
Don earned his Certified Public Accountant designation at the onset of his career, and maintained it throughout. He spent his entire career in loyal service to Exxon, where he held several accounting, auditing, and managerial roles. His career crisscrossed the United States, including tours at headquarters in New York City; operations in Los Angeles, Ca., Charlotte, NC.; and Houston; and Southeast Asia (Singapore). He retired in 1986 but his services to Exxon continued with several managerial/consulting tours to Anchorage, Alaska. At retirement he and Joetta settled into the Conroe area where he has been a loyal member and Beacon of the Conroe United Methodist Church, and Class President for the Basic Sunday School class. He was a tireless community service volunteer.
Don is survived by his wife Joetta; their four children, Greg, Roger, Scott, and Dana and their spouses; and his six grand-daughters Kelsey, Sabrina, April, Lucy, Reagan, and Rachel and grandson Hunter. He will be forever remembered as the loving and generous patriarch of the family.
A celebration of life will be held on Monday, April 26, 2021 at First Methodist Conroe 4308 W Davis St, Conroe, TX 77304, beginning at 1:00pm. To join the service virtually please visit www.fmconroe.org and click on the livestream link at the top of the page on the day of the service.
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