Carl Fred Dinga

Obituary

Carl F. Dinga, 85, of Asheboro, NC, passed away on September 5, 2023, after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. Carl was preceded in death by his parents, Carl John and Gertrude Kneller Dinga of DuBarry, FL.

Carl is survived by his wife, Catherine Loy McCaffrey-Dinga of the home; son and daughter-in-law Mike and Bonnie West of Salisbury, NC; son and daughter-in-law Robert and Tina Dinga of Cincinnati, OH; stepdaughter Ann McCaffrey of Asheville, NC; grandchildren Sarah West Kline, Rachel West, Isabella Dinga, Griffin Dinga, and step grandson Devon Collins.

Carl enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1956 and served as an Electronics Technician, attaining the rank of ET2. During his Navy service Carl served on the USS Leyte and the USS Windlass. Upon honorable discharge from the Navy, Carl worked for the Martin Company servicing NIKE Atlas missile sites in the greater Chicago area. In 1964 Carl started his undergraduate studies at Valparaiso University in Indiana. Upon graduation, Carl received a scholarship to attend graduate school at Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN, where he earned both his Masters and PhD degrees in Geology. Carl was awarded a post-doctoral grant by the National Science Foundation at Colorado State University in Boulder, CO, to study geomorphology. In 1971, Dr. Dinga began his academic teaching career at UNC-Greensboro, NC, in the Geography Department where he introduced geology to the core curriculum.

In 1985, Carl’s career changed course when he was recruited by AT&T Federal Systems Division to work in their classified undersea surveillance program for the US Navy. During the years with AT&T Carl travelled the world, including Taiwan, Japan, China, Egypt, Scotland, Nova Scotia, Iceland, Greenland and England. Carl retired from AT&T/General Dynamics in 1998.

Carl was a talented wood-worker and built many pieces of fine furniture. His greatest enjoyment came from restoring antique Harley Davidson motorcycles. He learned the craft under the tutelage of Mr. Ed Rich of Asheboro, NC, at Ed’s Antique Harley Museum. Over the years, Carl lovingly restored five Harleys, the oldest being a 1933 Model VL.

A celebration of life will be held at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, or a charity of the donor’s choice.