JOHN CARY CARROLL

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jul 13, 2004

John Cary Carroll died at home on July 7 at the age of 86. He is survived by his wife, Mary (Poirier) Carroll; by his brother, A. Bernard Carroll (of Manti, UT); by his daughter, Lani Carroll, and his son, Wayne Carroll (of Eau Claire, WI); and his four grandchildren:

Jake Gillis (of Charlottesville, VA) and Sarah, Kate, and John Carroll (of Eau Claire, WI). He was preceded in death by his father and mother. He was born on December 23, 1917 in La Junta, the son of Arthur B. Carroll and Ola (Cary) Carroll. In his early years the family lived in El Moro, north of Trinidad, where his father worked as a section foreman on the Santa Fe railroad. After graduating from El Moro High School in 1936, John joined his father in working for the railroad. He aspired to a white-collar career as a railroad clerk, but his plans were interrupted when he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the summer of 1941. In 1943 he married a longtime friend, Mary Helen Poirier of Trinidad, with whom he happily shared his remaining sixty-one years. During World War II he served in a number of stateside roles, eventually completing pilot training shortly before the end of the war. After the war he continued to serve in the Army Air Corps, and then the Air Force, finally rising to the rank of major before his retirement in 1961. During his military service he was stationed in Newfoundland, Germany, and France, as well as many parts of the U.S.

After his retirement from the Air Force, John and his family moved to Colorado Springs, where he began a second career working in civil service positions at the Air Force Academy. He retired from the civil service in 1980, and his wife retired from her long teaching career shortly after. After their many years of hard work, he pledged that they would eat lunch at a restaurant each day, and they kept that vow almost perfectly over the next twenty-some years. In their long retirement they traveled to Montreal, Great Britain, and throughout the Southwest. When they were home, they always enjoyed each day's views of the Front Range - every day a little different from the day before - and they liked to watch the birds and squirrels that were drawn to the feeders in their back yard.

John will be remembered by all who knew him for his good cheer, his unpretentiousness, his kindness and compassion for others, and his deep appreciation of the good things in his life. His grandchildren in particular will always remember his subversive sense of fun - sometimes letting them eat ice cream for breakfast when they visited; driving a little fast through puddles in rainstorms, so the water would splash high alongside the car; or decorating a smaller, second Christmas tree as a special surprise for a grandson. At his request, there will be no memorial services.