Lawrence "Carl" Carlton Wall, Sr.

L. Carl Wall

Lawrence Carlton "Carl" Wall Sr. was born on March 15, 1952. He was the son of Jesse and Beulah Wall and grew up in Everett, Washington with his siblings Jesse Jr., Mary, Margaret, and Myra. Anyone who knew Carl understood that family was by far the most important part of his life. What made Carl special was that anyone who really knew him felt like and was treated like his family.

Carl exhibited his instinct to protect the ones he loved at an early age by protecting his sisters from one of the most dangerous things in the world, young boys. His desire to ensure the safety of others led to his enrollment in the Army as a teenager. While Carl’s decision to serve his country may have forced him to leave his family, it led to the beginning of more than he could have ever dreamed.

On February 13, 1971, Carl attended a dance at Fort Devens in MA, where he was stationed. It turned out to be the most important day of Carl’s life, because he met a beautiful young lady from Hudson named Nancy. Carl must have had pretty good dance moves in his younger days, because he married the love of his life on June 11, 1971. Their honeymoon phase was interrupted when Carl went to Vietnam, but they were able to start a family together two years later.

Carl and Nancy were blessed with three sons, Carl Jr., Lee, and Chris. Carl was incredibly proud of his boys, but they were even more proud he was their father. His sons knew their father was a true hero. Carl was a veteran, a police officer, a devoted husband, and a role model for anyone who wants to learn how to take care of their family. He worked hard to provide for family but still made time to be at every school activity and sporting event for his sons.

When just being at their games wasn’t enough, Carl volunteered for a spot on the sidelines. Whether he was coaching football for Carl Jr. and Lee or soccer for Chris (even though probably he didn’t know what soccer was until Chris started playing), Coach Carl always had his whistle ready to tell everyone to “Take a lap!” at any point during practice.

After his coaching days were over and his sons graduated from college, Carl retired from the Massachusetts State Police as a Lieutenant in 2009. He was a police officer for over twenty years and was ready to spend more time with his family. While Carl earned many titles throughout his life, his greatest honor was being called Papa Wall by his grandchildren, Ashley, Colin, and Ava.

Unfortunately, Carl didn’t get to enjoy his role in helping to raise his grandchildren as much as he hoped. In February of 2016, he was officially diagnosed with Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and his health declined over the years. He relied on the care of his immediate family, especially Nancy, who were all willing to support Carl through anything, because that is what he would do and did for them. Carl’s remarkable strength coupled with love for and from his family allowed everyone around him to appreciate the time they had together until he finally found peace on February 19, 2022.

Calling hours will be held on Wednesday, February 23rd from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Tighe Hamilton Regional Funeral Home. Funeral services will also be held there on Thursday, February 24th beginning at 11:00 a.m. with burial to follow at Saint Michael's Cemetery in Hudson.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Carl may be made to CurePSP at psp.org, mailing a check made out to CurePSP 1216 Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001, or calling 443-578-5670.