Very sad news regarding Semroc and Carl McLawhorn

Met him at NARCONN when I was a newbie. He spent considerable time showing me his kits and even hooked me up with someone to mentor me thru his saturn kit. One of the best! My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Oh no, what very sad news :sad:

Thoughts are with Sheryl & family,

Sascha.

Very sad to hear this news. Carl and I often kidded about which of us was older. In response to my standard "O1der than dirt" motto, Carl would say he remembered when dirt was still pebbles and rocks. I will miss him.

Condolences to Sheryl and the entire Semroc crew.

Carl kept the light of rocketry burning through many of the dark nights of our hobby.

Clear skies, Carl.

Here is Carl's obituary:

https://www.stricklandfuneralhomes.net/obits/obituary.php?id=326876

There's a button for signing/viewing a condolence book.

Ltvscout said:

Here is Carl's obituary:

https://www.stricklandfuneralhomes.net/obits/obituary.php?id=326876

There's a button for signing/viewing a condolence book.

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Thanks. I had planned to look for that today.

My Condolences to the family. He will be missed. Semroc produces the best Model Rocket kits on the market. period.

I have been visiting SEMROC on the internet for the past two years or so now (recently rediscovering the hobby), and have been absolutely fascinated by the unrelenting dedication, passion and unparalleled knowledge of model rocketry that the owner (now I know as Carl) clearly had. Inexplicably, having never met, spoken, or corresponded with him, I was nonetheless duly impressed with his character, kindness and integrity. Mind you, these were things I was able discern and believe in simply from visiting his business on a website. I can only imagine what a wonderful, trustworthy, loyal and powerful friend he must have been to those who were fortunate enough to have known him personally.
Returning tonight from an eight day out-of-state trip to visit a brother-in-law who has been in ICU for over a month (he's out of ICU now and doing better); I arrived home to find a small package. My first order from SEMROC ! It's a Mars Lander kit... something that I have dreamed of having and building and flying for over 35 years (since I was about twelve). If it wasn't for Carl, I am confident that that particular dream of mine would never have come true... I mean, come on, where else are you going to get a Mars Lander kit?
I suppose a few people could somehow find (and afford to buy) an original on eBay for a large sum of money (if the stars aligned just right for them). It was not that way for me though. Carl gave me my dream easily and for a very, very small price...
I have the receipt to prove it... dated 8/10/2013 and signed: "Thanks! Carl."
Respectfully,
Joe McDaniel

This is very sad news indeed. I hope Carl knew how much joy he brought to us in the hobby.
Because of him I was able to bring back so many great memories of my childhood, and build the
Rockets I was never able to complete when I was younger.

My Condolences to his family and friends

He will be missed

My thoughts and prayers are with the family. Truly a sad event at the loss of a fellow rocketeer and entrepreneur.

Sad news indeed.

But the legacy lives on in the wonderful products and memories they make.

I actually knew Carl from Scouting well before I even knew he was involved in rocketry. One of the nicest people I've ever met, and a true example of living the values of Scouting: helpful, friendly, courteous, kind... I'm sad to hear about this on a rocketry forum. He'll be missed in many other forums as well. Please pass my condolences to Sheryl and the rest of the family.

Just stumbled on this thread and read all the posts.

My condolences and best wishes for Sheryl.

RIP Carl, and thank you for your service to the hobby.

I flew four Semroc kits this past weekend in memory of Carl. I made sure that they were announced on the PA. Many fliers had not heard the news. I drag raced a LAUNCH Missile and Recruiter and individually flew the Gee'hod and Tau Zero. Ad astra!

RIP...
I never personally met him, but what I've heard on numerous occasions from others leads me to believe he was a great, nice guy.
My heart goes out to his family :sad:

I want to thank you all again for all your thoughts and prayers. They have meant so much to me during this very trying time. Bruce is determined to do his best to keep the company going but as many of you know, Carl was the heart of this company.

Thank you all again for your support,
Sheryl

Sheryl@semroc said:

I want to thank you all again for all your thoughts and prayers. They have meant so much to me during this very trying time. Bruce is determined to do his best to keep the company going but as many of you know, Carl was the heart of this company.

Thank you all again for your support,
Sheryl

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Sheryl, may the Lord uphold you and your family during this time.

Greg

I don't know if this has been posted yet, but it came overnight from the DARS Yahoo group. Nice video and nice tribute:

I wanted to share a very moving tribute video made by Frank Di Cosimo (DARS member). The video was of John Dyer's SEMROC Saturn 1B on August 17th. This rocket was never meant to fly....so, it didn't have a launch lug. This dedication flight came out of the tower perfectly.

[YOUTUBE]BE0sHBR5KtE[/YOUTUBE]

Frank....thanks for putting this together...you did a wonderful job!

~Suzy

Very nice.

Thanks for posting it Tim!

I have been away from the forum for awhile and just noticed this. I am deeply saddened by this news. I never met Carl in person but had talked with him via e-mail and found him to be a very straightforward individual. My condolences to the family, and my hopes and prayers for their continued well being.

Hello everyone. My name is Curt and I am Carl's slightly younger brother. I happened on this thread quite by accident and to tell you the truth, I was not surprised at the enormous outpouring of care and sympathy from all who had dealt with or met Carl. He WAS genuinely the type person you've all deduced and more. Although I never shared Carl's passion for space and rockets like he did, I did always find it fascinating. I can't tell you when he first became interested, but I DO recall that when the first launch of Sputnik was announced, Carl was right there, at a young age, on top of the news. When it came time for a possible flyover sighting, he had the whole family out in our backyard, heads up, watching the sky. As I recall, he didn't want to come in and wanted to wait for it to come around again...lol. When I first saw the movie, October Sky, I was floored. This movie, I thought, could just as easily been about Carl's early life, right down to his three faithful friends, who shared his passion for rockets. Even the issues with the rocket nozzle happened with Carl. It was obvious he could go no further in rocket building without them, but a metal lathe was an expenditure a financially strapped family couldn't easily afford. Eventually, my Dad, a tractor mechanic by trade, figured he could find a use for one in his work and he purchased a small metal lathe that still sits out here in our little shop. Carl finally had his first rocket nozzles. Everything was usually pretty quiet out in the shop after school when Carl and his friends were doing their rocketry works......except when they were cooking up the potassium nitrate and sugar mix (I think it was). I happened to be walking by one afternoon when one yelled, "It's too HOT!" and all 4 hit the doorway at the same time. The resultant explosion helped make the single doorway big enough to get 4 kids through it at one time. Luckily, there was just a few singed eye brows and the smell of burning hair. I'll never forget one of Carl's first attempts at launching a live payload. After a couple of successful launches, he felt confident enough to give his pet hampster a lift. Mistake.....and I recall Carl crying for two days and swearing off rocketry forever...but as we know, that didn't quell his passion. I could go on and on with some of his earliest stories, their underground command center out in the field, the lines of cars on Sunday afternoon launches here in the country where we lived, but I can tell you that Carl experienced some of it all in his lifetime. I suppose his failures and successes were what made him so empathetic to others just beginning the hobby.

You've all lost one of the most brilliant minds in the business. Carl had a most brilliant mind. His acumen in computer programming served him as his bread and butter for about 30 years....until he finally had to return to his beloved, and never forgotten Semroc (Southeastern Model Rocketry).

I guess when some of your earliest memories of a person is sharing a wet bed with them, it bonds you for life. You may want to strangle each other to death at times, but the bond and love will always remain.

I loved Carl. I miss him.

Curt, thank you very much for sharing! I'm one of those who never had the pleasure of meeting your brother, but I did interact with him over the computer.

-Kevin

Yes, thank you for sharing this... wonderful memories...

Carl truly was one of a kind. Very sorry for your loss...

Take care and God bless!
OL JR

I took this pic of Carl at the first organizational meeting of the Triangle Area Rocketeers, a club that he and I helped to start in 2011. Unfortunately, the club disbanded after the Club President relocated to the western part of the USA. I remember the fun, the laughter, and the friendship. I'll see you again, Carl !

Dave Fitch

Prayers and Condolences sent.

SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY . . . We Lost Carl McLawhorn.

Rest In Peace, my friend !

Dave F.

I still miss Uncle Carl.

Ez2cDave said:

SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY . . . We Lost Carl McLawhorn.

Rest In Peace, my friend !

Dave F.

View attachment 427893

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Very sad. Great to work with. Was that a kit?

cwbullet said:

Very sad. Great to work with. Was that a kit?

Click to expand...

https://www.rocketreviews.com/sls-aero-dart---semroc.html

The nose cone confused me. I do not remember it being that blunt.