Carl Gabriel Warren Eklund
1907 - 1979

Carl Gabriel Warren Eklund was born at Burlington, Iowa, on July 30, 1907. He was the 2nd child of Carl Petrus Eklund and Laura (Malnburg) Eklund, both of Swedish descent. Carl's father was a Swedish Methodist pastor and evangelist. Carl lived in Iowa and Illinois as an infant, and his family moved to Denver in 1912.

In 1917, when Carl was 10 years old, the Eklunds settled in Lindsborg, Kansas, where Carl's father was pastor of the Trinity Methodist Church. Carl graduated from Lindsborg High School in 1924 and received a degree in education from Bethany College in 1928. He contined his education at Iliff School of Theology in Denver wherer he obtained both a Master of Theology degree and a Doctorate of Theology degree in 1932. He also studied with the aid of a fellowship at Yale Univeristy in 1933-1934.

As a Methodist pastor, Carl Eklund served churches in Beloit (1928), Tescott-Culver (1932), Salina Grand Avenue and Mentor (1934) while obtaining his education.

Carl Eklund was married on December 23, 1935, to Ester Marie Emery at Minneapolis, Kansas, while living at Mentor, Kansas. he became pastor of the church in Ellsworth in 1939.

Dr. Eklund's most satisfying experiences were as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. In September of 1940, a year before the United States entered World War II, Carl joined the 45th Infantry Division, the famous "Thunderbird Division". From 1940 to November of 1946, Carl was stationed in Texas, Massachusetts and Maryland, as well as in the combat zone in the South Pacific. He was highly respected by other military officers and spent 28 years on active duty and in the U.S. Army reserves. He retired from the U.S. Army reserves in 1967 with the rank of major.

Following his separation from active in 1946, Dr. Eklund served as a Methodist pastor in Downs and Portis (1946), Sterling (1952), Russell and Bunker Hill (1955) and Medicine Lodge (1965). He was also a trustee of Kansas Wesleyan College in Salina for 12 years and served on a number of church, hospital and community boards. He was a 32nd degree mason and a member of Lions Clubs wherever he resided.

Dr. Eklund retired as a pastor in 1978. Carl and Ester moved to a home they owned in Wichita, Kansas. Carl died suddenly on August 19, 1979 at Wichita, and he is buried at White Chapel Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Wichita, Kansas.