Following is the obituary for CARL FREEMAN MATHIS, submitted for his family by the Harding Funeral Home.

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Carl Freeman Mathis passed away at the age of 64 on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in his home in Westport. 

Born in Champagne, Ill., on Nov. 28, 1958, to Bob and Joan Mathis, Carl was raised along with his five siblings in the idyllic, pastoral town of Rantoul, Ill. 

Growing up, Carl was something of a renaissance man; he was a natural performer, a talented musician, a capable athlete, and the easiest of friends — all characteristics that would define him for the rest of his life. He attended college at Bradley University, where he began a career in television that would take a small-town farm boy all over the United States. 

Following stints in Peoria, Ill.; Denver, Colo., and Los Angeles, Calif., Carl found himself in New York City, where he met Risa, the love of his life and his wife of 32 years. The two settled in Westport, where they would go on to raise their four children; Robert, David, Michael, and Elizabeth. He co-founded a successful company selling advertising on behalf of clients such as PBS and NPR, a career that brought him fulfillment and pride. 

But Carl was also a fiercely devoted father and husband; he was never too busy to coach a basketball team, and never home too late to help one of his kids with an audition. Carl was also deeply committed to his faith; a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, he served faithfully as the president and an elder of St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Norwalk. 

Carl’s love of life extended from UConn Huskies basketball to acclaimed British a cappella group, the King’s Singers. His family would never order steak from a restaurant because they knew Carl’s was better; he loved to cook, but never more so than for the people he loved. He felt as comfortable at the beach as he did skeet shooting in a cornfield, as at home at the hardware store as he was at a jazz concert. He knew what it was to ski in Colorado, to sail in the Long Island Sound, to drive a race car in Indianapolis. 

And yet, there was nothing he loved more than when all of his family was in the same room, sitting around, talking and laughing. Sometimes he would sit quietly in awe that he managed to build the same kind of loving home that shaped him. He lived his life the way we all hope to — experiencing the many profundities and wonders it has to offer without ever losing sight of what is most important. Such gifts of friendship, music, sports, laughter, religion and love were the light that brightened our hearts, and they will continue to brighten ours forever. 

He is survived by his wife, mother, four children, five siblings, and their families. His loved ones are consoled in knowing that he is reunited with his father, Robert Mathis; his grandparents, Jim and Polly Douglas and Paul and Etha Bogott; his wife’s parents, Mel and Bernice Robinson; and his beloved dog, Chloe. May his memory be a blessing. 

Family and friends are invited to attend a funeral service for Carl on Thursday Nov. 9, at 2 p.m. meeting directly at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 208 Newtown Ave., Norwalk. The Mathis family will receive friends in their home, 159 Easton Road, on Friday, Nov. 10, from 2 to 8 p.m.

Condolences for the family may be left online at www.hardingfuneral.com. Contributions in memory of Carl in lieu of flowers may be made to St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Hour, or to Carl’s favorite radio station, WNYC.