Carl Richard Schroeder, 68, died Dec. 1 at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

He was born April 23, 1934, in Port Huron, Mich., to Carl E. and Elaine (Sawdon) Schroeder.

He was a successful illustrator for the past 30 years. He began his career with the Army Corps of Engineers in Germany where he mastered the versatility that being an artist in the service demands; he painted signs one day and colonel’s portrait the next.

This experience led to more formal training at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, and finally to Art Center College of Design in California. He spent four years there influenced by some of the nation’s premier illustrators and artists.

For the next three decades, he worked as an illustrator, first in Detroit painting ads for car companies and then as the owner of Nationwide Architectural Arts, Inc. and later as the owner of Northwest Graphics: S&A Inc.

He illustrated everything from cruise ships, resorts and military ships, planes and missiles to an entire new city in China. His illustrations appeared in Time, Newsweek, Forbes, and Architectural Digest, among other publications.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Schroeder, Bainbridge Island; one son, Neal Andrew Schroeder, Bainbridge Island; one daughter, Dana Lorraine Schroeder, Orlando, Fla.; two brothers, Warren of Washington, Mich., and Bryant of Northville, Mich; two sisters, Jenness Linsday, Mt. Pleasant, Mich., and Melissa Des Jardin, Union, Ky.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Dec. 7 at Bainbridge Alliance Church. Burial will follow at Port Blakely Cemetery.

Arrangements are under the direction of Kass Funeral Home.