Vale Carl Masters: Pinnacle grandfather, theatre lover, cane cutter, taekwondo enthusiast, home chef

Starting life as a ringer the man with two left feet met the love of his life on the dancefloor. In his rich 79 years he never failed to adapt and grow even after a nightmare injury — finding a new passion for cooking to take pressure off the family.

Pinnacle man Carl Masters passed away on July 20, 2024, aged 79 and is missed by his friends and family. Picture: Supplied

A Pioneer Valley grandfather is being remembered as a dedicated family man, diligent worker who took life by both hands and never stopped growing.

Carl Masters of Pinnacle died on July 20 after being injured in a crash at Mirani, leaving behind his sweetheart and wife of 46 years, Mary; his children Bronwyn, Carlene and Liam; and his grandchildren Lily, Danielle and Cameron.

The 79 year old with a gift for the gab was a familiar face across the Mackay region as his daughters can attest to, Carlene revealing she and Bronwyn as teenagers would “go in a different direction” if someone approached their father at Caneland Central.

“Whether you were up for a chat or not, it didn’t much matter,” family friend Anthony Nielsen said at Mr Master’s funeral service on Wednesday, a line met with laughter from those gathered to say goodbye.

Ringer’s time in army cut short

Mr Nielsen said Mr Masters was born in Clermont in 1945 where he lived with his grandparents.

He never lost his childlike curiosity, and always learned new things

He left home at 14 to work as a ringer and at 21, he was called upon to fight in the Vietnam War but poor hearing led to his discharge shortly after training.

At 22, he moved to Netherdale to hand cut sugar cane.

There Mr Masters found the Valley Theatrical Players, a performing arts group that would “become a central part of his life for many years”, Mr Nielsen said.

Kicker not a dancer, love at first sight

Mr Masters then took up work as a contractor after buying a friend’s cane harvester and it was during an old time dance at Gargett’s CWA Hall he met the love of his life.

“Mary remembers from the moment she met Carl, she knew that was it,” Mr Nielsen said.

“She felt she could truly be herself around him.

Wedding bells

“It didn’t matter that Carl wasn’t a particularly good dancer, he was happy to give it a go for Mary.”

Mr Nielsen said the pair wed in 1978 and created a family together with their children sharing “fond memories” of their dad’s vegetable garden, fruit trees and the many pigs, chooks, geese and ducks over the years.

“Actually there are no fond memories of the geese,” he added, drawing more chuckles from funeral attendees.

Mr Masters loved being a dad and sharing his interests with family which included judo and taekwondo but their taekwondo club had to ban family members from sparring after he “got just a little competitive” with Bronwyn, Mr Nielsen said.

Carl loved a good spar in his younger years

Family memories cherished forever

To Mr Masters, family was precious, Carlene sharing memories of her Dad loading her and Bronwyn in the wheelbarrow to walk to Pinnacle Post Office.

Summer was spent swimming at waterholes and “loading up all the kids in the back of the old Land Rover” on December 24 to find the “perfect” Christmas tree, Mr Nielsen said.

Christmas around the tree

When Mr Masters’ children flew the nest, he made sure each had a key to the family home and when Bronwyn left to the “big smoke” of Mackay to study at CQ University, he set a place for her at the table “for about a year”, Carlene said.

“She never came to dinner, she never called to say she was coming to dinner but Dad always made sure that the table was set because she was family and that’s just the way it was.”

Nightmare accident inspired passion for food

Putting food on the table, especially made from local produce, became a passion for Mr Masters after he nearly died in a “nightmare” incident at Marian Mill in 1998, having switched from harvesting to earning his loco driver and riggers tickets.

“Mary remembers vividly the day she got a phone call saying there’d been an accident at the mill followed by an entire week of not knowing whether he was going to live or die,” Mr Nielsen said.

“Carl survived in large part because of who he was.

“He was fit as a fiddle the day he fell having earned his black belt in taekwondo just a few months prior.

“And he was mentally strong, his surgeons commented on how his acceptance and positive outlook clearly accelerated his healing during that long journey.”

Mr Nielsen said the fall “changed everything” about Mr Master’s body but not his core values of a positive outlook, dedicated work ethic and chattiness, adding Mary treated every day she got with her husband from then on as “bonus time”.

His rich life would be the envy of any

When Mrs Masters had to go back to work, Mr Masters – whose fractured elbows presented logistical challenges for the family – discovered he “could take a load off Mary’s shoulders” by cooking.

“Thus began many joyful years of culinary experiments,” Mr Nielsen said.

“No cookbook was safe from Carl’s curiosity.

“One of the many joys of Carl’s retirement was attending the local markets, supporting local producers … and making friends everywhere he went.”

In his later years he took up cooking to help the family

Also bringing joy to the retiree was being responsible for picking up his granddaughter from school as he scheduled an “extra four hours” to read the paper and “catch up with everyone who walked through the door” at Mirani’s Kookaburra Store.

When the Daily Mercury moved online, Mr Masters “suddenly prioritised learning how to use a computer so that he never missed an interesting bit of news about the region”.

Mr Nielsen concluded it was impossible to distil his friend and former colleague’s “rich life” but he was loved and would be missed.

Carlene asked for those who knew her father to stop her if they saw her out and about so they could share their memories as she reflected her Dad would always encourage the family to smile.

Do you have memories of Mr Masters to share? Comment below or you can email [e-mail] and the Daily Mercury will pass on to the family.

Originally published as Vale Carl Masters: Pinnacle grandfather, theatre lover, cane cutter, taekwondo enthusiast, home chef