John Edwin Carstarphen
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In Memory of
John Carstarphen
1940 - 2021
On July 9, 2021 John Edwin Carstarphen passed away peacefully and joined the love of his life, Oktavia Carstarphen who preceded him in 2010. His keen intellect, lively humor and loving presence among us will be sorely missed by all his family and friends.
John was born in Houston, TX in 1940 to Jean House Carstarphen and Chapel Price Carstarphen. He served two years in the army. Afterwards, he worked on a merchant ship around Africa then worked as an English-speaking foreign correspondent for U.S. newspapers in Spain and Germany. While in Germany he met Oktavia Dertinger, a native German. They got married and moved to the U.S. in 1965 with their two children. John continued journalism in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
He then became a peace officer and served on various police departments in Texas ending on the Galveston Police Department (GPD). He was shot in the line of duty, saving the life of a fallen officer in the process. John retired from police work after almost 20 years. He continued to serve in the Texas National Guard, retiring in 2003 with 27 years of Military Service.
John was an avid member of Galveston Lions clubs, serving in numerous leadership positions that took him around the state, culminating in his induction into the Lions Hall of Fame in 2011.
The family will remember him most for his uncanny ability to find humor in even the darkest of situations, his life of service to country and community, and his beautiful singing voice.
He is survived by his daughter Nike Carstarphen and her wife Alexandra Gardner of Baltimore, MD; son Chapel Carstarphen and his wife SungHee and their son Timothy of San Antonio, TX; sister Louise Carstarphen of Houston, TX; brothers-in law Rudolf Dertinger and Christian Dertinger in Germany and their families.
A memorial service with Military Honors will be held 11am Monday, July 19, at Carnes Brothers Funeral Home, 1201 Tremont, in Galveston. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a tax deductible donation to the Texas Lions Camp, www.lionscamp.com.