Carlton Alan Rohde

He was born in Houston, Texas on September 2, 1949.

He married Ava Rohde on October 11, 1969. The courtship began on April 27th at a Wienerschnitzel in Houston, Texas.

Carlton was a friend to all who was always willing to lend a helping hand, he loved to tinker and was a fixer of anything. He was known as “Pepaw” to his grandchildren and great granddaughter as well as the superhero who could always “fix this, Pepaw”. Carlton was a dedicated and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. To say he loved and adored his grandchildren was an understatement.

Carlton had a passion for music, was a self-taught guitar player, and was known for his musical abilities. He was also a God loving man who enjoyed singing and worshiping with the Lord. Additionally, he enjoyed fishing, carpentry, and traveling – especially if on a motorcycle!

He is survived by his wife Ava, and three children Carlton and wife Myrna, Sandee and husband Rob, and Sheryl. Carlton also had eight grandchildren, Sharrissa and her husband Jonathan, Kayleigh, Bayleigh, Jeffery, Maddie, Macie, Bayley, and Austin, and one great grandchild Gianna Mae.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Granite Mountain Baptist Church.

A memorial service for Carlton will be held Sunday, October 22, 2023 at 2:00 PM at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Funeral Home, 14501 North Interstate 35, Pflugerville, Texas 78660. Reception to follow

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.cookwaldencapitalparks.com

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Carlton Rohde

Hi, I’m Les Sandersfeld. I’m the guy that came with Beverly. Beverly met Ava in 1970 and they became best friends forever. I met Beverly in 1984 and shortly after we met, Beverly said we need to go see Carlton and Ava. One nice Sunday afternoon we drove from Cypress in northwest Houston to Highlands in east Houston and spent most of the afternoon in their pool. I observed that Carlton was very warm and friendly, always had a big grin and was very easy-going. He laughed a lot and kidded me about Beverly.

The next time I saw Carlton in their home was after they had moved from Highlands to a 100 year old house that belonged to Carlton’s aunt on a farm near Taylor, Texas. The old house was a dog run style house with an open breezeway through the middle and rooms on each side. The house was on piers so Carlton could crawl underneath it. Sometime in the past someone had enclosed one end of the breezeway and added a bathroom. Carlton spent many hours working on the old house. He enclosed part of the front porch and made it a sewing room mainly for Ava’s quilting machine. Later the sewing room became the living room and a bedroom became the new sewing room. The parlor became a bedroom. Two bedrooms was not quite enough for the family so Carlton found a house which was to be torn down and it had an upstairs with a stairway. Carlton bought the stairway and installed it in their house. He then finished out the attic and made a bedroom, a sewing room and a bathroom up there.

Carlton said when they invented PVC pipe they made a plumber out of him. He added a bathroom to the bedroom that later became the new sewing room and opened the bathroom up to their latest master bedroom. The commode in the main bathroom was not quite in the right place (according to Ava) so Carlton moved it - two inches. Later Carlton added another bathroom with outdoor access for the swimming pool. Somewhere in there he added an above ground swimming pool and a deck for it. Later, when they got a different pool he redid the deck making it much larger. He also expanded the back porch and added a garage.

I was always impressed with how Carlton always seemed to be happy, always had that big grin and was always joking and kidding people. I don’t believe Carlton ever met a stranger, he always met people with his big grin and his hand out to shake hands with his friend, new or old.

I would like to end with a quote from the great American philosopher and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson wrote “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” I believe Carlton was a great success.

Carlton, we will forever miss you. – Beverly and Les Sandersfeld