Carl Long
Carl Denver Long, formerly of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, passed away on Sunday, December 16, 2018 after a period of declining health.
Born July 2, 1931 in Nashville, he was raised in Hopkinsville, Ky., where he met and married his sweetheart and wife of 66 years, Mary Ruth Pool.
After proudly completing military service as a paratrooper with the 11th Airborne at Fort Campbell, Ky. in 1953, Carl enrolled at Austin Peay State University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with a focus in accounting. After graduation, he worked as a cost accountant with Ford Motor Company in Louisville, Ky. He was then recruited by General Electric to join their highly competitive Financial Management training program and worked for GE for seven years. During that time, he was assigned to positions in Louisville, Ky., Portland, Me., Schenectady, N.Y. and Washington, D.C.
In 1964, Carl joined Stanray Corporation in Chicago, where he was employed for five years as their Corporate Comptroller. It was at Stanray where he became skilled in finance and acquisitions. In addition to owning the Jetway brand used to connect airport terminals with commercial airplanes, Stanray owned a diverse group of companies in the boating and railway industries.
In 1969, Carl joined the computer software firm Informatics, Inc. in Los Angeles as vice president of finance. In 1973, he joined Ramada Inn Corp. in Phoenix as executive vice president where he remained until recruited in 1977 by The Krystal Company in Chattanooga as vice president of finance.
It was during his tenure with his beloved Krystal family that his career blossomed, and in 1981 he was promoted to president. He was promoted again in 1990 and became Krystal's chairman and chief executive officer, a position he held until his retirement in 1997. Under his leadership, Krystal grew to over 300 restaurants in 10 states. It was also under his leadership that Krystal acquired and became the largest Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburger franchisee (d/b/a DavCo Food, Inc.) as well as purchasing the Po' Folks restaurant chain.
In addition to his professional positions, Carl was a licensed certified public accountant in Tennessee, California and Illinois.
Carl is survived by his wife, Mary Ruth, his two sons, Steve (Suzanne) and Bruce (Eileen) and his grandchildren, Kyle, Connor, Dustin, Crystal, Misty and Angie.
Family will receive friends from 12-3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, at Chattanooga Funeral Home, North Chapel on Highway 153, followed by a brief service at 3 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. Burial will be private.
For those who wish, memorial contributions may be made in lieu of flowers to the charity of your choice.
Arrangements are under the care of the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson. Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com