Carleton T. Geary Jr. Obituary
Carleton Thomas Geary Jr., (LTC, Ret. Army) age 58, husband of Katherine (St. Cyr) Geary of Gloucester, MA, passed away on Wednesday, December 29, 2022.
Carl was born in Gloucester, MA on March 20, 1964 to devoted parents, Carleton Sr. and Patricia (Joslin) Geary. In 1965, Carl was joined in life by his brother David. Their childhood and teenage years were spent growing up in Gloucester, with days full of fishing, spending time with family and running around town with friends.
Carl was dedicated to his education and career throughout his life. There was nothing he couldn't learn. A graduate of Gloucester High School he was a proud member of the schools ROTC program. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Army. He earned an honorable discharge to attend Norwich University in Vermont. At Norwich, Carl met many lifelong friends and excelled in his studies. He devoted 25 years of his life serving his country, earning a myriad of awards, achievements and promotions.
After Norwich, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant and his career began as a Field Artillery Officer. He was stationed at Ft.Sill, Korea, and the 101st Airborne Division, where he graduated first in Air Assault class.
Carl served in the Gulf War with the "screaming eagles" and deployed to Iraq as a battery Executive Officer earning a Bronze Star for his achievements.
As a Captain in his following duty station, Ft. Stewart he was elected as a battery commander, twice, a rare achievement.
Carl chose to leave field artillery and turn his career towards becoming a Foreign Area Officer. He continued his studies, earning a Master's in Russian and Eastern European Studies from Kansas University and attending Presidio Monterey Defense Language Institute in California where he became fluent in Russian, earning top scores.
From there, Carl attended the George Marshall School in Garmisch Germany, attending the Eurasian Foreign Area program. While here, Carl learned he was elected to attend Command and General Staff course, at Ft. Leavenworth Kansas, before his peers.
All of his years of dedication and hard work paid off and Carl, now as a Major, served at the Pentagon in the Ballistic Missile Defense Agency, serving as an attaché for Russian and U.S relations before his retirement. Carl retired in 2006, as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Post retirement, he spent several years working for the Defense Intelligence Agency before he pursued another Master's degree in Cybersecurity.
Upon returning to Gloucester, he continued his dedication to learning new things, which brought him into a new career with The Great Marsh Shellfish Company in Rowley where he took an interest in becoming educated in shellfish farming and aquaculture. This new venture was something Carl took great pride in.
In his free time, he enjoyed learning and a variety of hobbies, including collectable bottles and antiquing. He was a voracious reader who could remember everything he read, could tell you anything you wanted to know about history, an excellent chef and grill master, could quote any movie and loved spending time traveling to new places.
Carl's proudest achievement was as a father, to his daughter Mallory Patricia Geary and his son Max Geary. He marveled at their ability as children to move from duty stations with such ease and expressed appreciation in their support.
Carl is survived by wife Katherine (St. Cyr) Geary of Gloucester, MA, brother David Geary of Gloucester, MA, daughter Mallory and husband Jay of Tulsa, OK, son Max and wife Lucky of New Haven, CT. He is also survived by his mother-in-law, Carol St. Cyr of Manchester, NH, sister-in-law Debbie (St. Cyr) Mitchell of Manchester, NH, brothers-in-law, Scott St. Cyr of Palm Springs, CA, Brian St. Cyr of Gloucester, MA and Christopher St. Cyr of Dover, NH.
Services will be held on Saturday, January 7th at 11a.m. in the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA. Visitation hours will be from 10:00-11:00a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family ask that donations be made to organizations supporting causes that were important to Carl, Disabled American Veterans or Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
