Died: July 13, 1974
Carl Lauppé III was born in on April 1, 1943 in Providence, Rhode Island, where his father was stationed as a Navy officer. His father’s civilian career took the family to Branford, CT, Florence, AL, and Charlotte, NC. As an infant and young child, Carl had spinal meningitis, polio and major vision problems in one eye. Nonetheless, he was an outstanding student and demonstrated a talent for the piano that he would pursue for the rest of his life. While living in Charlotte, he was identified by a local family that placed promising students in prep schools. Under the sponsorship of this family, he was awarded a scholarship to Phillips Academy, Andover. His love of music blossomed at Andover, where he won the Collier Music Prize, performed in Carousel, Kiss Me Kate, and The Happy Warrior, and also sang in the Chorus.
At Yale, Carl’s love of English, foreign languages, music and other arts grew stronger. He was an English Intensive major, on the Dean’s list repeatedly, and also was a Ranking Scholar. Skilled at foreign languages, he was fluent in French and German and also studied Spanish, Russian and Chinese just for the pure enjoyment of it. Continuing to develop his gift as a pianist, he had his grand piano shipped from North Carolina to his room at Yale. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina.
Following graduation, Carl worked for a time in Manhattan. He then received an appointment as an English instructor at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto (now known as Ryerson University). He was a popular teacher with both students and colleagues on the faculty. In addition to teaching English, Carl devoted himself to writing poetry and pursuing his life-long interest in music. In Toronto, he performed in a chamber music group, playing the flute and piccolo, and also composed music. In early 1974, Carl was offered a position with the Film Institute of Canada, but sadly he passed away before he could start that job. He died in his sleep on July 13, 1974.
William Farnam remembers:
Carl and I were in the same English class freshman year, and we became good friends. Carl and I both tried to live a 19th century lifestyle, which included many silly over indulgences. Carl was sometimes around campus at Christmas, as his mother was an unreliable host for him at holidays. I recall making a huge batch of eggnog according the Colonial Williamsburg receipt and the two of us getting very drunk. We also used to love going to the old Hofbrau Haus and pretending we were 19th century students in Heidelberg, quaffing large amounts of beer in the process. I also remember our consuming two bottles of Dom Perignon one night, purchased at the old Midtown motel French restaurant — $25.00 ea. Wow; those days are gone!
Edmund Crotty remembers:
Although we were in different residential colleges and in different majors, I had some regular contact with Carl through our shared membership in the More House (St. Thomas More) community. While Carl was a rather quiet person, he was also very personable and approachable. My recollection of him brings to mind a calm, respectful and notably dignified person. He always impressed me as particularly thoughtful about things. Among our contemporaries back then, there seemed to be a heightened spiritual quality to him. He was especially “easy-to-be-with.”