Carroll Townes Lancaster Jr.

Carroll Townes Lancaster Jr., the son of Carroll Townes Lancaster and Beatrice Holloman, passed away last Sunday, August 9, 2015 at the age of eighty-six. Carroll was born March 14, 1929 in Waco Texas. He had two older sisters, Kathleen and Geneva. Carroll attended High School at San Marcos Academy near Austin, Texas. At the age of 15, he joined the National Guard. Later, he enlisted in the Navy and served as a Merchant Marine. He served in Japan during the Japanese Occupation. Eventually he returned to the United States as a Reservist and using the G .I. Bill, attended the University of Texas in Austin. Before completing his education, Carroll was recalled for the Korean War where he served on a Merchant Marine Vessel. Carroll was Honorably Discharged on April 6th 1953. He returned to the University of Texas.

Not long after attending UT, while living in Houston, he met Catherine (Catey) Virginia Frommel. Soon they were deeply in love. He asked her to marry him. In his later years, he shared how fortunate he was to have such beautiful woman in his life - “that a gal like her could love a guy like him”. He and Catey married on May 29, 1954. They had four children together, from the best of genes - Loren Thomas, Barbara Jo, Beverly Elaine and John Tracy. During the years that their children were born, they moved to New Orleans, LA, Tulsa, OK, and eventually returned to Houston, TX. They lived in Houston until their retirement to Zephyr, TX many years later.

In the early part of his working life, Carroll was a salesman for the Union Tank Gas Company. Beginning with the Arthritis Foundation, he started a career as an Executive Director for non-profit agencies. Other non-profits he worked for included United Cerebral Palsy, The Leukemia Society, The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and The Low Vision Center. As an Executive Director, he created fundraising events and programs to improve the quality of life for individuals struggling with impairments. His greatest professional skill was in developing and managing complex and comprehensive programs and marketing campaigns involving a wide variety of people and various forms of live and published media. In the late seventies and until his retirement in 2008 at the age of seventy- nine, he managed the Southwestern Society of Orthodontists and the Texas Association of Orthodontists.

In his spare time, Carroll volunteered as a coach of a children’s football team, supported local music artists’ careers, took a leadership role in the local City Council, and was a vestrymen at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where his family attended. In the sixties, he organized and managed several blood donation drives for the American Red Cross. He was fascinated with genealogy and spent many hours studying and sharing his family’s history. He loved football. College football was his favorite - his beloved University of Texas Longhorns being number one on the list. He also enjoyed historical literature, poetry, and photography. Carroll and Catey raised hibiscus flowers and competed nationally in hibiscus competitions. Carroll published articles and assisted in managing a national hibiscus magazine. He was interviewed as a hibiscus expert on the radio.

Given all Carroll Townes Lancaster Jr. did in his life, his family always came first. He was a man with a big, big heart. His love touched many people. He always rooted for the underdog – not only in sports but in life as well. For those who knew him, it was his delicate nature we were fortunate to be guided, challenged, inspired by and loved. We are blessed to have shared our lives with such a beautiful, loving, lovely guy! We will miss you! Love you always Dad!

Awards/Medals: Combat Action Ribbon

Navy Good Conduct, American Campaign (1946), Victory WWII, Occupation (Navy) – Japan, United Nations Korea, Korean War - 1 Campaign star , National Defense - with star,Korean War Service (by Republic of Korea; U.S. authorized in 1999), Commemorative Victory WWII (50 years), Commemorative Korean War (50 years), Commemorative Combat Action (50 years), Commemorative Combat Service (50 years)