Carl Demidovich Ret. U.S.A.F Captain

Carl Demidovich, Retired US Air Force Captain, 89, passed away on Thursday, May 2, 2024, while receiving care at Vancrest of Van Wert.

Carl was born to Anna and Carl Demidovich of Youngstown. He graduated from Youngstown East High School and The Ohio State University, where he met his wife, Joy.  Carl was selected as the top ROTC officer his senior year of college, earning several awards, and went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force, Office of Special Investigations.  In the early years of their marriage, Joy and Carl lived in Illinois, Okinawa, Japan, and Washington DC while Carl was an officer in the U.S. Air Force. In 1965 they returned to Van Wert to raise their family.  Carl was a manager at Borden Foods until it closed, and then had other roles at MetLife Insurance and Rudolph Foods before retiring.

He was a fixture at Willow Bend and Hickory Sticks golf clubs for many years and played in several club championships and leagues. He was inducted into the Youngstown East Sports Hall of Fame because of his golf teams’ winning performance at state championships over three years.  Carl was a member of Van Wert chapters of Elks, VFW, and Moose. An active member of St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, he served on the school board while his children were enrolled, and volunteered as an usher, communion distributor and lector over many decades.

Carl was especially close to his six siblings while growing up in Youngstown and in later years as they married and had families. He and his brothers all served in branches of the U.S. military.  Born to immigrant parents, Carl was proud of his Slovak and Belarusian roots, and enjoyed the foods and music of his heritage.  He loved many kinds of music, especially polkas and the Ohio State marching band.  Carl and Joy spent many years attending OSU football games, and were contributors to the university.

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and godfather, Carl is survived by his son, Carl (Libby) Demidovich; daughters, Jill (Kent) Smelser and Lindsay Demidovich, and brothers, Bill (Nancy) and Steve. His grandchildren and great-grandchildren include: Kyle (Taylor) Smelser, Beckham, Bennet and Jamison, of Springboro; Katie (Kit) Fortescue, Archie and Josie, of Brandon, Florida; Morgan (Jacob) Triplett, Palmer, Boone, and Poppy of Celina; Michael (Mikha) Smelser of Canoga Park, California; Chelsea (Mike) Schweid, Hamden and Maelyn of Denver, Colorado; Casey (Alissa) Hill, Ruby and Sven of Oak Creek, Colorado; Zach (Wendy) Hill, Juliette and Aiven of Thornton, Colorado; Alexander (Eileen) Demidovich, Nolan of Manhattan, New York; Tessa (Rafael) del Gallego, Kalina and Luna of Denver, Colorado; Ivan (Sharelle) Demidovich, Eliyanah, Denver, CO; Alex (Julie) Wathen, Luca and Cleo of Lyon, France.

Carl was preceded in death by the love of his life, wife Joy, and their infant son, Michael; mother Anna and father Carl, and siblings Joe, John, Helen, and Betty. 

Visitation will from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, at Cowan & Son Funeral Home, Van Wert. A funeral mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday May 10, at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church, Van Wert preceded by viewing at the church at 10 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, Carl’s family asks you to consider making a donation in his memory to the Van Wert Humane Society or to the Fisher-Nightingale Foundation, Inc., to support compassionate care facilities at Wright-Patterson that house military patients and their families receiving treatment at the Wright-Pat Medical Center.  Donations can be made online at https://www.fnhi.org/donate/ or sent by mail to Kimberly Luse, Executive Director, PO Box 33871, Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433.  Fisher House was an organization dear to the hearts of Joy and Carl.

Online condolences may be expressed on the Tribute Wall at cowanfuneralhome.com.