Carl Stephens was born on January 8, 1935 and passed away at the age of 77 on Wednesday, August 1, 2012. Carl was a resident of Montgomery, Alabama at the time of his passing.
Carl is survived by his wife of 49 years, Mary McKinley; son, Richard Stephens (Rae); daughter, Sandra Beisel (Andy); brother, James Stephens (Janet); and his six adored grandchildren. Carl worked in various capacities at WSFA-TV for 41 years and retired in 1998 as Operations Manager. After graduating from the University of Alabama, Carl began his career in television at WSFA as the beloved Cartoon Carl, an afternoon children’s show. He later served as a news anchor, then spent many years as Sports Director before moving into management.
A memorial service was held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 4th at First United Methodist Church in Montgomery, where Carl was a long-time member. Dr. Lawson Bryan and Dr. Karl Stegall officiated.
As Sports Director, Carl had the privilege of hosting the Auburn Football Review with Coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan for 13 seasons, where the popular saying “you’re so right, Carl” originated. As the public address announcer, he served for 27 years as “the Voice of Jordan Hare Stadium.” For many years he also announced the AU Marching Band pre-game and half-time shows. He was the PA announcer for many Auburn basketball and baseball regular season games. Carl was honored to serve as the PA announcer for more than a dozen SEC football championship games and numerous SEC and NCAA basketball and baseball tournaments.
Memorial gifts may be made to the AU Foundation and designated for the AU Band Facility Project: attention Vivian Langley, Auburn University, 317 Biggin Hall, Auburn, AL 36849; or to the church of your choice.
