Carl Don Sedillo – February 3, 2023

Lieutenant Colonel Carl Don Sedillo, USA, RET, 91, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, died peacefully of natural causes, on February 3, 2023, at home.  He was born on August 13, 1931, in Las Cruces, New Mexico to his father Daniel Ramirez Sedillo and mother, Emilia Fitch Sedillo. Carl married Maria Elvira Chavez in 1952 with whom he had two sons: Henry and David and one daughter, Karla Sedillo Simmet. He married Joyce Bentley in 1965 and had one daughter, Diane Sedillo-Eid. 

Carl graduated from St. Michael’s Catholic High School in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1949 and New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico in 1953. He commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army in 1953 and served until 1973 reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Carl served in many overseas assignments including Korea, Vietnam, Germany, Italy, and Austria, as well as domestic assignments. Carl enjoyed his military career during which he taught tank gunnery classes, served as border patrol between Italy and Yugoslavia and East and West Germany, was a Company Commander and Battalion Logistics Officer, and acted as Headquarters Commandant for the 9th Infantry Division in Vietnam. His final assignment in the military was as Director of Logistics for Test Command at the Defense Nuclear Agency.

Following his military retirement in 1973, Carl worked for the state of New Mexico as Deputy Director for the Property Control Division. In 1982, he and his wife, Joyce, started their entrepreneurial career when they purchased a Swiss Colony gourmet cheese store in Lubbock, Texas which blossomed into a combination gourmet food store, bakery, and delicatessen. They expanded their corporation by opening gourmet coffee stores in the DFW metroplex. Carl retired in 1998.

Carl was an active member of the Knights of Columbus, where he was honored to become a 4th-degree knight. Carl and his wife, Joyce, were also active members of the Air Force Academy community chapel. Having enjoyed his time in Europe while in the military, Carl joined and served in several executive positions in the Trust Troopers, a military group of members who served in the Army in Trieste, Italy in 1954.

Carl was preceded in death by his parents Daniel and Emilia Sedillo, his brother Joseph Sedillo, and his granddaughter Christina Ann Simmet. He is survived by a large family: his loving wife Joyce Sedillo, his sister Patricia Stockton, his daughters Diane Sedillo-Eid and Karla Simmet and his sons Henry and David Sedillo.  He is also survived by his six grandchildren: James Sedillo, Ryan Sedillo, Lindsey Sedillo, Alexandra Eid, Natalia Eid, and Katarina Eid.  He is also survived by his 5 great-grandchildren: Catherine Sedillo, Amelia Sedillo, Laura Sedillo, Ryleigh Martinez, and Adriana Simmet.

A rosary and visitation for Carl is planned for Thursday, February 16, 2023, from 5pm to 7pm at Shrine of Remembrance Funeral home located at 1730 E Fountain Blvd, Colorado Springs, CO 80910.  The funeral will be held at 10am on Friday, February 17^th at Shrine of Remembrance with a private family burial at Fort Logan National Cemetery. The Knights of Columbus will serve as Pall Bearers.

In lieu of flowers, people wishing to honor Carl’s lifelong commitment to family and serving his country and community are asked to make a memorial donation to the Wounded Warrior Project, www.woundedwarriorproject.org, in his honor.