OBITUARY

Charles (Doug) Kroll June 19, 1949 – August 3, 2021

Charles (Doug) Kroll, loving husband, father and grandfather, passed away on Tuesday, August 3, 2021 in Williamsburg, Va. at the age of 72

Doug was born on June 19, 1949 in Florence, South Carolina and was raised in Lanark, Illinois by his parents, Clifford and Martha Kroll. He was an ordained Lutheran minister and U.S. Navy Chaplain, serving 24 years in the military. He earned a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971, a Master in Divinity from the Luther Theological Seminary in 1980, a Master of Arts from the University of San Diego in 1985, and a PhD from the Claremont Graduate School in 2000. On May 1, 1976, he married Lana (Gerling) in New York City, they raised two sons, Timothy and Matthew. 

Doug enjoyed history and taught for 13 years at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert, California. He researched and published multiple historical books and articles on the Coast Guard, such as Commodore Ellsworth P. Bertholf: First Commandant of the Coast Guard and A Coast Guardsman’s History of the U. S. Coast Guard. Doug also enjoyed public and community service, volunteering thousands of hours to the Boy Scouts of America, the American Legion, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary. He enjoyed music and regularly played the trumpet in community bands and sang in multiple church choirs throughout his life. Doug combined his passions for the military, community service and music by playing Taps at funerals for veterans through Bugles Across America to honor his fellow service members of the armed forces.

Doug’s service in Keizer n included volunteering at the Keizer Heritage Foundation and Museum, the Keizer Community Library. He was instrumental in getting the American Legion post started in Keizer. 

Doug’s lifetime of service allowed him to live all over the country and touch the souls of many people in Keizer as well as Lanark, Ill.; New York, N.Y.; St. Paul, Minn.; Brewster, Kan.; Saginaw, Mich.; San Diego, Calif.; Claremont, Calif.; Palm Desert, Calif; and Williamsburg, Va. 

He is survived by his wife Lana, his two sons Timothy and wife Christine (Williamsburg, VA) and Matthew and wife Amber (Washington, DC), and five grandchildren: Preston, Aiden, Brennan, Savannah, and Audrey. He is also survived by his brother Jim, sister Margaret, and several cousins, nieces and nephews. 

A funeral service will be held at 1pm on Thursday, August 19 at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown, Va. Due to military base security and COVID-19 restrictions, the ceremony will not be open to the public. A live-stream video of the service will be available. He will later be laid to rest in Riverside National Cemetery in Southern California.