Carl was born October 20, 1938 in East Killingly, Connecticut, to Ernest and Dorothy (Oatley) Elfgren. He attended school first in Connecticut and later in Berwyn and Broken Bow, Nebraska. He served in the United States Army from 1961 to 1964, and worked on Hydraulic repairs.
Carl died December 1, 2011 at age 73. Services in Broken Bow, December 6, with Reverend Will Thompson officiating. Carl had lived in Overton, Nebraska, and chose to donate his body to anatomical research.
He is survived by two sons, Bill Elfgren of Overton, and Travis (Angie) Elfgren of Overton, a daughter Tina (Dale) Poe of Hill City, Kansas; 12 grandchildren; two brothers, Oscar Elfgren of Billingsly, Montana, Roger Elfgren of Odessa, Nebraska, three sisters Sandra (Junior) Dunkel of Broken Bow, Linda (Delbert) Smith of Cozad, Nebraska, and Donna (Mike) Hatfield of Lexington, Nebraska.