F. Carlton “Carl” Siegel, chairman of Marblehead’s Water and Sewer Commission, treasurer of the Marblehead Rotary Club for 27 years and the town’s trusted election night vote counter for more than three decades, died Feb. 20. He was 92.
As the craftsman behind Marblehead’s hand-carved school and park signs and builder of structures from lighthouse replicas to sports field equipment, friends said Siegel embodied the spirit of public service.
After arriving in Marblehead in the 1960s for what was meant to be a six-month assignment with General Electric, Siegel found his true home.
“He ended up staying for 63 years,” his daughter, Suzanne Siegel, told the Current on the occasion of his 90th birthday. “He just loves the town.”
A Korean War Navy veteran who served on a destroyer, Siegel brought military precision to everything he touched. Fellow Rotarian, Nancy Gwin, said he maintained immaculate manual records with his distinctive penmanship. “
“He had the most perfect handwriting, and he was the best bookkeeper,” said Gwin, past Rotary president. “People would come along and say ‘Let’s put it online.’ I’d say no one’s ever going to do it better than Carl manually.”
Siegel’s craftsmanship literally shaped Marblehead’s landscape.
“Every sign that you see in front of a school or a park in Marblehead was handmade by Carl,” said Town Moderator Jack Attridge, a fellow Rotarian. “The lighthouse at the Village School was built by Carl. The welded and metal entry sign going into Waterside Cemetery was fabricated and welded by Carl. There wasn’t anything that he wouldn’t do for the town.”
Beyond his metalwork and carpentry, Siegel took pride in maintaining the town’s appearance. He arranged the string of lights at the lighthouse for the Fourth of July and Christmas celebrations for many years and maintained the islands at Maple and Lafayette Streets, ensuring a welcoming entrance to town.
“He was one that certainly did more than you think for the town. I mean he was always doing little projects here and there,” said former Marblehead veterans agent Dave Rodgers, a longtime friend. “He didn’t want to let it go, you know? He just wanted to keep serving the town, and he did until after he was 90 years old … One of the good guys.”
Siegel could be seen on election nights at Abbot Hall, where he meticulously recorded results on tally chalk boards he had built himself before a crowd of people who’d gathered there to watch results come in. His dedication to civic participation earned him special recognition when the Select Board proclaimed March 16, 2023, as “F. Carlton Siegel Day” on his 90th birthday.
Attridge remembers Siegel from his days with youth football.
“He was one of the board members and a referee. He was a pretty strict guy — you had to have your shirt tucked in, you had to have your white belt, you had to be well put together to step on the field and play.”
That strictness mellowed with age. “When I was new in Rotary and I was president, he was treasurer. I was actually a bit afraid of him,” Gwin admitted. “And then I got to know him so well, and we just became good friends. I’d call him up, and he always called me ‘Nance.’ We would just have the best talks.”
Before his long tenure on the Water and Sewer Commission, Siegel served on the Recreation and Parks Commission, where he helped shape the town’s recreational facilities. He built scoreboards, bleachers and goalposts for every park and field in town.
A recipient of the Frank Reagan Community Service Award and recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International, Siegel eschewed accolades, preferring to work quietly in service of others.
“He was as honest as the day is long,” Gwin reflected, “just a special kind of person who always wanted to give and always wanted to sort of be in the background. Didn’t want accolades.”
