John Charles Carlisle

John "J.C." Charles Carlisle, 77, of Louisville, Kentucky, passed away on Thursday, December 30, 2021.

He was born on October 12, 1944 in Hawthorne, Nevada to the late Jack and Jewel E.R. (Reece) Carlisle. He is also preceded in death by his sister Jackie James.

J.C. grew up in the San Diego, California area and graduated in 1962 from Sweetwater Union High School in National City, California. When the Vietnam War started, he volunteered for the draft and joined the U.S. Army. During the war he worked at Ireland Army Hospital at Fort Knox which brought him to Kentucky. His training in laboratory work kept him stateside instead of being sent to Vietnam.

In August of 1967, he attended a dance at Whispering Hills Country Club that would change his life forever. He met Patricia Hoover who was wearing a polka dot dress and immediately knew she was a special lady. His Army service ended in 1967 and they were married in April 1968 at Saint Columba in Louisville. They celebrated 53 years of marriage in 2021.

His first employment after the Army was at American Air Filter in Louisville. He became self-employed shortly after that and operated Hardware Supply on Oakdale Avenue behind Churchill Downs. For 40 years, his main business was as owner/operator of Design Plastics, where he designed and built custom jobs. His most noteworthy jobs were for Naval Ordnance and the U.S. Post Office.

J.C. was also an accomplished inventor. He achieved a patent on a waterproofing product which was sold as Frog's Fanny in the flyfishing market and he traveled to archery shows with his daughters where they marketed it as RainFeather for bowhunting.

J.C. was deeply devoted to his wife, two daughters and three grandchildren. He almost never missed any activity his kids were involved in including field trips, volleyball and softball games, and ice skating competitions. He loved being a chaperone and being a chauffeur for travel tournaments. He loved traveling with his family from camping trips to big road trips exploring the Great American West.

Over the years some of his favorite hobbies included playing golf, playing tennis, watching golf and being outdoors. J.C. was a member of the American Legion and loved supporting veteran causes. Most recently, he enjoyed watching Jeopardy every night to see how many answers he knew.

J.C. is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Patricia (Hoover) Carlisle, daughters, Christy Moore (Danny), Kimberly Carlisle, grandchildren Madison, Travis and Levi Moore, niece Kelly O' Rourke (Derek Fialkiewicz), great-nieces and nephews Katie, Michael and Angelina Cruz, and brother-in-law Charles James. J.C. is also survived by a host of other family and friends.

John's family would like to thank all the wonderful doctors, nurses and other staff at Baptist East Hospital who cared for him several times in the past 5 years.

A gathering to celebrate J.C.'s life will be held on Saturday, January 8, 2022 from 4:30 pm until 8:00 pm at Newcomer Cremations, Funerals & Receptions (235 Juneau Drive Louisville, KY 40243).

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