Campbell, Jr., Carroll Francis

Carroll Francis Campbell, Jr. - age: 83
(June 13, 1933 to December 18, 2016 )
Resident of Ukiah, California

Obituary:
A longtime resident of Ukiah, Carroll Francis Campbell, Jr., known to most as Budge, passed away on Sunday, December 18, 2016 in Sunriver, Oregon. He was 83.
Mr. Campbell was born on June 13, 1933 in Chico, California to Katherine Duensing Campbell and Carroll Francis Campbell, who nicknamed him Budge because of his headstrong disposition. He graduated from Chico High, and later from California State University, Chico with a degree in civil engineering. An All-State athlete in both football and track and field, he was red-shirt drafted by the Los Angeles Rams. His attempt at the NFL was eclipsed by military service in the Seabees, an engineering division of the US Navy.

After service in the US Navy, Mr. Campbell went to work for Sonoma County, where he spent several years as a road engineer before assuming the position of Director of Public Works in Amador County. He and his family later moved to Ukiah in 1969, where he served as Director of Public Works of Mendocino County until his retirement in 1997. In addition to being hired as the youngest director of public works in California, he retired as the longest-serving director in the State of California, and was elected President of the National Association of County Engineers, a nation-wide organization of more than 2,000 county engineers, road managers and related professionals in the US and Canada. One of his final projects in Mendocino County was construction of the Pioneer Crossing Bridge, a beam bridge over the Eel River on Eel River Road. He chose the all-encompassing name because, as he explained, there were too many deserving people who lived and worked in Mendocino County to single out any one individual.

A MacGyver before the MacGyver television series, Mr. Campbell was a resourceful man who could design, build or repair nearly anything, whether it was a county bridge or road, an award-winning 4-H rabbit cage, or an elaborate pulley system to move his daughter’s belongings from her third-floor college apartment. He was also a certified pilot and flight instructor, avid outdoorsman, Freemason, and born cattle rancher. As Mr. Campbell often said, a person could accomplish just about anything he or she set their mind to.

Mr. Campbell is survived by his two daughters, Colby Campbell and Kenzie Campbell, both of Sacramento, California; his son, Colton Campbell (wife, Marilyn) and grandson, Caden Campbell, of Washington, D.C.; his brother, John Campbell, of Paradise, California; his sister-in-law, Carla Brown, of Carmichael, California; his brother-in-law, Gilbert Jones, of Chico, California; several nieces and nephews; and his devoted canine companion of nearly 15 years, Riley. Mr. Campbell is preceded in death by his elementary school sweetheart and wife of 51 years, Ardis Campbell, as well as his oldest son, Craig Campbell.

Services will be held at 11:00 on Thursday, January 5, 2016 at Eversole Mortuary, located at 141 Low Gap Road, Ukiah, California. In lieu of flowers, Mr. Campbell would have fancied a tree planted in his memory.