Carl Eugene Pfeiferling

Carl Eugene “Gene” Pfeiferling of Hamilton, IL went to be with the Lord on November 20, 2025 at the age of 94. To celebrate Carl, visitation will be 9:00 am on Saturday, November 29 at the United Methodist Church in Hamilton, IL with the funeral at 11:00 am. Interment to follow at Oakwood Cemetery in Hamilton.

Carl was born to Carl and Ruth Pfeiferling on June 25, 1931 during the Great Depression. He was raised on their family farm along with his younger brother Neil, had many fond memories of growing up in the country and enjoyed discussing farming and rural life. Carl attended Hamilton High School and often joked he graduated with the class of 1949 because he sat next to June Mulch, his high school sweetheart. In addition to chasing June, he ran track at HHS. He proposed to June before leaving to proudly serve in the US Army during the Korean Conflict while stationed in Germany from 1952 – 1954. Three weeks after his return to the United States, he married June on June 6,1954 in Sutter Illinois. His motto was “happy wife, happy life”. In 1956, they built a new home, lived there for 69 years and were pleased to call Hamilton their home.

Carl began his career at General Mills followed by employment at Sheller Globe where he served as Head of Maintenance and Senior Buyer. He stayed active throughout his retirement, joyfully assisting A-1 Landscaping for his son, Dean and serving as a loving caretaker for June.

Carl happily served his community by coaching Little League and Pony League Baseball with “Brother Neil”. He was President of the Hamilton Recreation Association and a member of the Hamilton Park Board. He was a dedicated member of the Hamilton United Methodist Church serving on many committees and participating in activities with his church family. He truly enjoyed decades of being on the Church Council where he was Chairman for many years.

Carl was an avid sports enthusiast. He was a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, cheered on the U of I Fighting Illini and thoroughly enjoyed attending events of his favored Hamilton High School Cardinals/West Hancock Titans. He traveled to many games to watch generations of his family participate. He and June received the Sports Booster Club Members of the Year for their dedication to school sports. The Pfeiferling families were known for sitting in the same bleachers in the gymnasium for 60+ years.

Carl and June enjoyed traveling, especially to Branson MO and took a special once-in-a-lifetime trip to Europe to revisit the places in Germany he served during his army years.

The greatest gift of Carl’s life was his family. He was the proud parents of daughter, Carla and son, Dean but his greatest joy came from his grandchildren—Deanna, Alyssa, Trent and Reid who could do little or no wrong in his opinion. The twinkle of eye was his great-granddaughter, Palmer as he happily sported his “Promoted to Great-Grandpa” shirt. Carl faithfully supported all family activities.

The family would like to thank those who impacted Carl’s life through your love, support, friendship, medical care, assistance or simply good conversation and a few laughs. His sense of humor, willingness to serve, caring for others, support of young people, and faith in the Lord will long be remembered.

Those left to honor his memory are June, his wife of 71 years; daughter Carla (Jim) Zwicker; son Dean Pfeiferling (Cheryl Knuffman); grandchildren Deanna Zwicker, Alyssa (McClain) Robinson, Trent (Kelsey) Zwicker, one great-granddaughter Palmer Zwicker and two great-grandsons on-the-way; sister-in-law Darlene Pfeiferling; and many nephews and their families. Carl was predeceased by his grandson Reid Pfeiferling, brother Neil Pfeiferling, and parents Carl and Ruth Pfeiferling.

Memorials may be made to the Hamilton United Methodist Church or West Hancock Sports Boosters.