John Paul DeCarlo

John Paul DeCarlo was born in Alabama City to Paul and Mary Josephine Damico DeCarlo, who both immigrated from Sicily. His parents had little formal education, but he said they were among the smartest people he ever met. They opened DeCarlo Foods in Inglenook with thirty three dollars and paid twenty of that for rent. The store was open seven days a week. The family lived behind the store and had friends and neighbors of many different ethnicities.

Though he was no scholar he loved learning. He attended Cunningham School and Phillips High School. He was fortunate to have had outstanding teachers that inspired his interest in history, literature and art.

While at old Howard College in East Lake he spotted Elizabeth Collins (GeeGee), a new student, as she walked across the lawn in front of Old Main and he was smitten. Six months later Johnny Paul and GeeGee eloped! He went on to law school and she supported them as a schoolteacher in Tarrant City while he labored long and hard to pass the bar. They were married forty seven years, had a daughter and were members of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

He served in the District Attorney’s Office, the cabinet of Governor Lurleen B. Wallace as Assistant Banking Director, the 1968 and 1972 Presidential Campaigns of Governor George C. Wallace as National Campaign Coordinator and Campaign Legal Advisor and the Court of Criminal Appeals. Johnny Paul was grateful for those opportunities, though the work that shaped him and where he gained the most valuable life experience was in his parents’ neighborhood store.

Among those who loved and adored him are his daughter, Elise DeCarlo Barclay and son-in-law, Michael Barclay; his grandson, John Michael DeCarlo Barclay and granddaughter-in-law, Victoria Barclay; his granddaughter, Elizabeth Collins Barclay Nelson and grandson-in-law, Charles Anthony Nelson II; and his great grand children, John Michael DeCarlo Barclay Jr., Mary Edith Barclay, George Harrison Barclay, Frances Marguerite Barclay, Josephine Elise Nelson, Penelope Jane Nelson and Charles Anthony Nelson III.

His request was that there be no funeral. He was buried at Elmwood Cemetery.

“Crossing the Bar” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I put out to sea,

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,

And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness or farewell,

When I embark;

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When I have crost the bar.