Don Carnes

Don Edwin Carnes (89) passed away after an extended illness on May 19, 2025, at Adena Medical Center in Chillicothe, Ohio.  He was born on October 31, 1935, in Circleville, Ohio, the youngest of three children to Beatrice (Pyle) Carnes and Clarence Edwin Carnes.  He was the devoted husband of sixty-seven years to Connie Waller Carnes, and beloved father to Tracey Carnes of Louisville, KY; Amy Carnes of Chillicothe; Melissa (Aaron) Carnes Mitten of Frankfort, OH; and the late Don E. Carnes, Jr.  He had seven grandchildren, Don Edwin (Jessica) Wells of Chillicothe; Kaitlyn Elizabeth, Christopher James, Benjamin Aaron and Rebecca Melissa Mitten of Frankfort, OH; Caroline Carnes Dzenitis and Elizabeth Thompson Dzenitis of Charleston, SC; two great-grandchildren, Charlie Rae and Lincoln Thomas Wells of Chillicothe; sisters-in-law, Madeline Waller Newell and Anna Mae Waller Fleshman of Chillicothe; nieces Jennie Klepinger of Hartland, MI; Rebecca (Randy) Matthews Lingo and Lois Fleshman Goen of Chillicothe; nephews Mark (Laura) Klepinger of Milford Charter Township, MI; Bret Carnes of Chillicothe; Bart Carnes of Jeffersonville, IN; James D. (Bonnie) Newell, Joe Matthews, Jr., Robert C. (Toby) Waller, and Rodney (Kezia) Fleshman, all of Chillicothe; and many great-nieces and great-nephews.

In addition to his parents and son, Don was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Carnes Klepinger, brother David R. Carnes, father and mother-in-law Robert C. and Virgie (Seymour) Waller; brothers-in-law Richard Klepinger, James E. Newell, Joe Matthews, Sr., Loren Fleshman, and Robert L. Waller; and sisters-in-law Marilyn Kerns Carnes, Marjorie Waller Matthews, and Norma Robinson Waller; and nieces Deborah Waller Graham and Bonnie Newell Claytor Gallaugher.

Don retired after a forty-nine-year career as a licensed civil engineer and surveyor, working first at Barrett, Cargo, Withers and Associates and later with the Ross County Engineer's Office.  He began his thirty-three years of public service as Deputy Engineer under Engineer Paul Miller, and later as the longest-serving Ross County Engineer at twenty-four years.  Don championed the development of the State Route 207 Connector and Veterans Parkway, the widening of State Route 104, and the construction or rehabilitation of six major Ross County bridges.  He was a longtime member and past president in 1994 of the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers.  He served his community as a 50-year member of Scioto Lodge #6 Masons, a member of the Ross County Historical Society, Advocate of The Ohio State University, and Trustee of First United Methodist Church.

Don began working at the age of ten as a Dresbach Milk Company delivery boy and later held a paper route covering a large part of Chillicothe's east end.  As a young teen he worked in The Gazette mailroom.  His hard work and determination enabled him to fund his future college education.  His childhood memories of World War II V-E Day and V-J Day sparked a lifelong interest in the history of that period, leading to the discovery of his relation to American journalist and World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle, and to a lifelong enjoyment of music from the big band era.  As a boy, Don played for his neighborhood baseball team, the Watt Street Tigers, and throughout his life was an avid fan of the Cincinnati Reds and The Ohio State Buckeyes.  In high school, he spent his free time at the local drugstore where he met the love of his life, Connie Waller.

A 1953 graduate of Chillicothe High School, Don earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from The Ohio State University in 1958, no doubt fortified by the many letters and chocolate cakes he received from Connie.  Two days after graduation, Don and Connie married on June 15, 1958, at the First Evangelical United Brethren Church in Chillicothe, and together they raised four children in a home they built themselves (with a little help from skilled family and friends).  Don instilled a love of American history in his children during summer vacation travels across the U.S. to historic sites, feats of civil engineering, and a few amusement parks.  Traveling by R.V. in 1977, the family enjoyed an epic five-week trip to the west coast.  A devoted father, he put his construction skills to work surprising his children with a large playhouse enjoyed by the neighborhood for many years.

Not one to slow down as he reached his fiftieth birthday, Don and Connie parlayed their love of antiques and historic homes into the auction win of a landmark Civil War era house in Ross County.  They spent the following years painstakingly restoring and preserving the house and grounds and remain proud stewards of Sowerby Manor to this day.

During his post-retirement years, Don and Connie traveled from Key West, Florida to the Arctic Ocean in Alaska; from Arcadia National Park in Maine to the California coastline; and to forty-seven states in between.  They visited the Caribbean, Panama Canal, Great Britain, Russia, Germany, Hungary and Austria, with a special emphasis on Ireland.

Don was the father that all children hope to have, he and Connie were the married couple that all husbands and wives hope to be, and he was the pillar of support that every family wishes it had.  He is forever in our hearts and will be missed more than words can ever express.

A graveside service will be held at 2:00 pm, Saturday, May 31, 2025, at Grandview Cemetery in Chillicothe, with the Rev. Aaron Hines officiating.  Condolences may be sent to www.hallerfuneralhome.com.