Carl Dickinson Meredith Jr. (May 10, 1944 – March 21, 1992) was an American chemical engineer and photographer from Massachusetts. He was born in Westfield, graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in chemical engineering, lived in Blandford, Worcester, and Groveland, MA and worked for Ventron in Danvers and Herzog Hart Co. in Boston. He was also a former member of the Whip City Drum Corps, active in Scouting in Groveland, a member of St. Mary’s Church in Georgetown, and an avid photographer.
Early life and education
Meredith was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, the son of Carl Meredith Sr. and Elizabeth (Bullard) Meredith. He graduated from Westfield High School, where he was a member of the high school band, and later graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute with a degree in chemical engineering.
Career
Meredith was a chemical engineer. He worked for Herzog Hart Co. in Boston and was described in contemporary notices as a chemical engineer there. He lived in Blandford and Worcester before moving to Groveland in 1974.
He also worked at Ventron in Danvers, Massachusetts, from about 1974 to 1990. In the early 1990s he attended the New England School of Photography.
Community life and photography
Meredith was a former member of the Whip City Drum Corps, a Westfield drum corps founded in 1950. He attended St. Mary’s Church in Georgetown and was active with the Boy Scouts in Groveland. Newspaper notices described him as an avid photographer. Meredith was also an amateur geologist with a lifelong interest in stones and gems, starting as a child when his family would go rock hunting after the road crews dynamited to make way for the new Massachusetts Turnpike.
Personal life
Meredith married Ellen Gail (Forkey) Meredith in 1966. They had two sons, Christopher Meredith and Timothy Meredith. The family lived at 193 King Street in Groveland. His surviving immediate family also included his mother, Elizabeth (Bullard) Meredith, and his sister, Susan Meredith of Westfield.
Death
Meredith died on March 21, 1992, after a head-on collision on School Street (Route 97) in Groveland, near the Bagnall School. He was the driver of a Chevy Blazer carrying three passengers and was pronounced dead at Hale Hospital in Haverhill after firefighters worked to free victims from the wreckage.
Four other people were injured in the crash, including his wife Ellen “Gail” Meredith, his son Christopher Meredith, Theresa Smith, and the driver of the other vehicle, Sandra M. Kachel of Georgetown. Contemporary newspaper coverage reported that Kachel’s Dodge Caravan crossed the median strip into the northbound lane.
Funeral services were held through the Merton E. Roberts Jr. Funeral Home in Georgetown, with a Mass at St. Mary’s Church and burial in St. Roch’s Cemetery in Oxford, Massachusetts. Memorial donations were directed to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
References
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette (March 26, 1992), “Carl D. Meredith Jr., 47.”
- Union-News (Springfield, March 25, 1992), “Carl Meredith, Hub engineer, crash victim.”
- Worcester Telegram & Gazette (May 27, 1992), “Carl D. Meredith Jr.”
- Whip City Drum Corps History.
- The Daily News (Newburyport, March 23, 1992), article by Beth Daley on the Groveland crash.