Carl Leigh Bair

Carl Leigh Bair

Nov. 15, 1932 – Jan. 19, 2022

Carl Leigh Bair was born in Shelley, Idaho, on November 15, 1932, to Gladys Harker Bair and Leonard Leigh Bair. He was the oldest of three boys. He passed from this life on January 19, 2022, and is now reunited with his wife, Karyn Black Bair, and many family and friends.

Carl grew up on a farm in Taylor, Idaho. In the eighth grade he took off the front end of a car and hooked up a team of horses to take other kids to school. When he graduated from middle school, he was one of three in the class. He joked that he was the salutatorian. He started playing football his junior year in high school and had to walk five miles home after each practice. Carl graduated from Shelley High School in 1950.

He attended Ricks College, where he was on the boxing, track and football teams, lettering in all three sports. Carl was an all-conference tackle during his junior and senior years along with being a co-captain during his senior year.

During this time, he met Karyn Black from Lovell. They were married on August 26, 1952, in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple. Upon graduating from Ricks in 1955, Carl and Karyn moved to Lovell, where he taught junior high science and coached football and wrestling. Carl went back to Ricks College in 1957, where he was an assistant football coach and started the wrestling program as the head coach. 

In 1960 Carl took a sabbatical leave to attend BYU, where he received his master’s degree. During his time there he was an assistant football coach for the BYU team. Carl returned to Ricks the spring of 1961 as the head football and head wrestling coach for the next five years.

Carl and Karyn were very proud of their young family, which consisted of Teddie Marie, Jackie Kay, Brett Leigh and Michael Black. In the summer of 1966 Carl and Karyn moved their family to Rockville, Maryland, where he coached at Montgomery Junior College as the head wrestling coach and assistant football coach. After spending two years in Maryland, they decided to move back to Idaho to farm with his dad near Blackfoot.

During this time, they welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Megan, to the family.

In 1970 they took a leap of faith and moved to Lovell, where they leased the Black Brothers Ranch, putting them into the cattle business. Since then, he has raised sheep, had a hog operation, worked for Northwest Analytical Laboratory in Powell and worked at the sugar factory. Carl also worked for his son-in-law, Dean Tippetts, at Woodcraft Cabinets until he set up his own shop on the ranch doing various woodworking projects.

Carl was a giant of a man in every sense of the word. He and Karyn taught the value of hard work and service to their children. They loved being around people and family, always having their door open to whoever stopped by. Carl served in many callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served many years as the Gospel Doctrine teacher, which he enjoyed.

Carl was well known for his dancing ability, especially waltz. He loved dancing with his sweetheart Karyn, daughters and daughters-in-law, along with all the other women who loved to dance. He loved his sports, especially football. He enjoyed painting, growing and cutting his lawn and eating anything with lots of sugar on it.

He is survived by brother-in-law Robert (Debra) Black; sister-in-law Gloria Tew; daughters Teddie (Dean) Tippetts, Jackie (Barr) Anderson and Megan Miller; sons Brett (Verna) Bair and Michael “Cub” (Lori) Bair; as well as 22 grandchildren and 39 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Friday, Jan. 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Haskell Funeral Home in Lovell. Funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 29, at the Lovell LDS Church at 10 a.m. with visitation at 9 a.m. Burial will take place at the Cowley Cemetery.