Roy Hudson Carwile

O prairie mother, I am one of your boys.
I have loved the prairie as a man with a heart shot full of pain over love.
Here I know I will hanker after nothing so much as one more sunrise 
or a sky moon of fire doubled to the river moon of water.
- Carl Sandburg

Roy was born on January 16, 1946 in Monmouth, IL, the son of Ralph Hudson Carwile and Ruth (Hamilton) Carwile. He grew up working with his father and uncle at the Carwile Paint Store on the square in Monmouth.
Roy graduated from Monmouth High School and received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the Ohio State University. He was the consummate scientist and had a long career working for ALCOA in Phoenix, Pittsburgh, and São Paolo, Brazil. Roy started as a field geologist looking for copper and later joined ALCOA’s burgeoning environmental team. By his career’s end, he was managing air quality worldwide.
Roy loved being out in the woods, on the water, up in the sky, and on the prairie. He knew the names of all the constellations, trees, plants and birds. Roy had a gift for languages and was fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. During his international travels, he would teach himself to say “I do not understand a single word I’m saying” in the language of each country, and then would fearlessly engage in conversation. 
Roy was a gifted musician, a private pilot, an avid fisherman and tennis player, and a bridge player whose intuitive bidding would sometimes horrify his partners! He was deeply involved in community life in Monterey, serving as a member of the Monterey Fire Company and Board of Health.
Roy is survived by his wife, Mary Gail Biebel, and his beloved children James Hudson Carwile (Adrienne), Heather McLean Brandon (River), Erin Sunshine McKain (Kurt), and Kathleen Melissa Biebel (Michael). He leaves behind ten grandchildren, his sister Robin Wagner (Eric), and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his sister Rita Bergren (Vern). 
Roy will be laid to rest in Sugar Tree Grove Cemetery, Monmouth, IL, back home on his beloved prairie. Please think of Roy when you look up at the stars in the clear night sky.
*****

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