Carl Triebs

Carl R. Triebs died at the age of 92 on May 14th in Vancouver, WA. In his final days, Carl was surrounded by his family and close friends at the Touchmark community where he had lived with his wife Priscilla for 13 years. To the end, Carl displayed his characteristic courage, selflessness and mordant wit. Carl had two great passions: his family and his lifelong love for learning. Carl Triebs and Priscilla Howe met in 1951 at the wedding of a mutual friend in Milwaukee, WI, where Carl grew up. Carl and Priscilla were married the next year on June 2 in Priscilla’s home town of Montpelier, VT. Upon return from a 16-month deployment to Korea, Carl and Priscilla settled in Cambridge, MA, where Carl resumed his studies at Harvard University. A daughter, Katie, was born in 1956, and in 1958 a son, Bill, who died at the age of 2. In 1959 Carl and Priscilla moved to the coastal town of Manchester, MA, where they lived for the next 50 years. Two children, Sam and Sally, arrived in 1961, and Emily was born in 1968. Carl was a wonderful husband and father: caring, devoted, encouraging and responsible. A rock of love and stability. Carl had a brilliant mind and he never lost his enthusiasm for intellectual discovery. An early interest in history is revealed in an award in American History that Carl received as a student at the University School of Milwaukee, where he went to high school. Carl earned a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago, a Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature from Harvard College (Magna Cum Laude), a Master of Arts from Harvard College, and a Master of Business Administration from Boston University. Carl also did advanced training at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College. Carl was an avid reader throughout his life, burning through scholarly tomes with shocking speed and retention. When the children were young, Carl would sneak off to his study or bedroom to read, as domestic circumstances permitted, and in retirement his studies became systematic and all-consuming. Carl published two books written in retirement: On This I have No Instructions, a history of celibacy in the Catholic Church, and They Rallied ‘Round the Flag, a study of the town of Manchester, MA during the Civil War. When Carl and Priscilla moved to the Touchmark community Carl converted half of the garage into a study and the walls were lined with bookshelves. At Touchmark, Carl gave presentations on the Civil War that were very well received, and for many years he curated the weekly movie showing, a responsibility he took quite seriously. Into his early 90’s, Carl’s days were structured around his studies, with time devoted to reading, lectures on tape, music, film, and studying Spanish, French, Italian, and Carl’s childhood language, German. It was a great blow to Carl near the end of his life when his vision slipped and he was no longer able to read. Carl had a strong sense of civic duty. On his release from active duty following the Korean War Carl joined the active army reserve, serving for 30 years, mostly in troop duty in field artillery and infantry, and rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. For 31 years Carl worked at the MITRE Corporation, in Bedford, MA, a non-profit organization which provided engineering and technology consulting to the Air Force. Although his background was in the liberal arts, Carl developed considerable technical expertise, and he held various staff and management positions, primarily in the area of strategic command and control for the Strategic Air Command. In his work at MITRE, Carl was motivated by his desire to help provide the American people with the best national defense at the lowest cost. In Manchester, Carl was elected to several terms on the town Finance Committee and was a trustee of the Manchester Library and of the Manchester Historical Society. Carl is survived by his wife of 70 years, Priscilla; his children Kate Bodin and her husband Dan Richards, Sam Triebs and his wife Norma, Sally Waite and her husband Gordon, and Emily Triebs; five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.