Carol Margaret Mitchell

Carol Margaret Melton Mitchell was born May 26, 1936, at Cook’s Hospital, the only child of Amos Wade Melton and Grace Bullock Melton. She left this life May 12, 2023, in San Antonio with her daughter at her side. Carol attended Alice Carlson, McLean, and Paschal, and her family attended the University Christian Church. Much of her childhood was spent on the sidelines at TCU football practice or in the press box with her beloved dad who was an assistant football coach (under Abe Martin) and a sports reporter for the Fort Worth Press and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. Carol graduated summa cum laude from TCU in 1958 with a double major in math and Spanish. She also spent happy summers studying Spanish at the Universidad Tecnológico in Monterrey, Mexico. At TCU she was a vice president of Kappa Delta and the president of the Panhellenic Council.

Upon graduation she was hired by Shell Oil in Corpus Christi as a mathematician, calculating (by hand and slide rule) the locations of oil wells. There were only three women in the large office: two female mathematicians and the secretary. Her highly accurate calculations were validated by the new IBM computer, and she was a respected employee, although she was paid $100.00 a month less than the men doing the same job (with less accuracy). While in Corpus Christi, Carol was welcomed into St. Patrick’s Parish, and she converted to Catholicism. There she found a new community of lifelong friends, including the Laudadio family and Monsignor Seamus McGowan and Father Charles Doherty. She also participated in community service projects and became interested in social justice issues. She taught math and history at Incarnate Word Academy and became a postulant of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, although a professed life was not her path. The work of the sisters impacted her world view, and she maintained close ties with the order in Corpus.

In 1964 her father’s ill health brought her back to Fort Worth and she cared for him and began a master’s degree in education at TCU which she completed in 1968 while also working and raising her small daughter, Margaret. Carol purchased a home in Westcliff and became a member of St. Andrew’s Catholic Church. She began her teaching career in 1966 at E.M. Daggett Middle school where she encountered in her students the fallout of poverty, discrimination, and systemic racism. She welcomed the desegregation of schools and was interested in experimental teaching methods like the “open classroom”, and she edited and produced the school newspaper. Carol was also very involved with the Fort Worth Classroom Teachers’ Association and served as an officer.

In 1976 she joined the faculty of Green B. Trimble Technical High School, where she taught for 25 years, and there she found another community of colleagues and dear friends. She became the chair of the math department and earned another master’s degree in computer science education at Texas Wesleyan. She and her close friend and colleague, R. L. Alholm, were the first people in Fort Worth to create a computer classroom and teach math via computer. Carol also wrote computer programs for her students and co-authored multiple math textbooks. Carol was honored as a Tandy Scholar in 1984 and 1989 and she received the Distinguished Educator Award at Texas Wesleyan in 1991.

At Tech she was an avid football fan, and she was interested in helping student athletes. She recognized the possibilities of future college scholarships for them, but she also insisted they push themselves to excel academically. Recognizing multiple problems some of her students experienced, she was at her desk every morning at 7:30 to listen and offer help. This early hour was originally designed as a tutoring session, but it quickly turned into a time when students could just come talk to “Mama Mitchell” and explain what was going on in their lives. Her golden rule of teaching was, “A student learns best when they know the teacher believes in them. They have to know you care, and if you love them, that’s even better.” She prided herself on never having discipline problems in the classroom, and she attributed that to her students’ awareness of her care and respect for them.

Upon retirement, Carol took a new job working for Region XI. Training and mentoring new teachers brought her a lot of joy. Carol loved visiting the novice educators in the classroom; she helped them create/update curriculum or helped with classroom management issues. She also served on the board of Lily B. Clayton.Carol loved to travel. When she was at Tech, she raised money and organized school trips to Puerta Vallarta so that her students could simply have fun and learn about traveling. She also traveled the world with her dear friend, Marian Newland. Their favorite places to visit were Mexico, Spain, Italy, England, Wales, and Ireland. Marian and Carol were fans of Spanish cathedrals, The Hermitage, the ruins of Pompeii, the Yucatan pyramids, English crop circles and obscure henges, and they could also be found in their natural habitat: every museum gift shop along the way.

The little yellow house on Winston Rd. was a hub of friendship and activity. It was the site of many visitors, dinner parties, every family holiday, and unofficial teachers’ meetings. On the second Saturday every December she held a Christmas party, known as “Carol’s Coffee”, for “100 or so of her closest friends”. The menu was always the same: pigs in the blanket, apricot rolls, fruit cake, mincemeat pie, divinity, and brown bread sandwiches. At the party’s peak, the house was bursting at the seams with the laughter and boisterous conversation of so many friends having such a great time. The party became legendary.

Although Carol was a great friend, daughter, niece, and teacher, the roles she loved best were of mother and grandmother. Carol and Margaret had busy lives, but there was always time set aside every week to have lunch at Neiman’s, go shopping, go to the library, the zoo, the Kimbell, Casa Manana or to have a picnic. Service was also a part of their lives; for six years Carol and Margaret visited prisoners every week at the Federal Correctional Institution. Carol constantly encouraged and supported all of Margaret’s many interests and projects. She attended plays Margaret was in or designed, as well as Margaret’s concerts and art exhibitions. When grandson Zachary arrived, Carol joyously packed the car and came to San Antonio to help. She adored Zachary and was thrilled to finally be “Nana”. She visited often and was involved in Zachary’s life, attending baseball games, concerts, and birthday parties. When they were together, they were inseparable.

Carol loved cats, sewing, knitting, collecting antique buttons and cat pins, embroidering, and crocheting. She loved green carnival glass, TCU football, Mexican food, Johnnie Mathis, gardenias, and black faced sheep. Among her last words were, “I had a great life. I had a lot of fun.” She did.Carol is preceded in death by her parents Amos and Grace, her aunts Rib Bennett and Clyde Morgan, her uncle Jay Watson Bennett, her close friends R.L. Alholm and Shirley Murphy, multiple cats, (especially Sweetie and Benny) and many friends. She is survived by her daughter Margaret, her grandson Zachary, her son-in-law, Douglas Endsley, her cousins Ann Bennet Karbach, Amy Mark, Kate McCarthy, and Linda Barker, her oldest friend of 81 years, Lois Ann Dublin, her adopted “son”, James Gray, her adopted “second daughter”, Mary Louise Becan Shack, and generations of students and beloved friends.

The family would like to thank the staff at Juniper Village at Lincoln Heights for their constant kindness and attention, and Nurse Jen at Santa Rita Hospice for her guidance, care, and support.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Carol Mitchell Fund to support the daily needs of students with the Trimble Tech Care Closet project. The Care Closet provides food, hygiene products, clothing, and school supplies to students in need. Please make checks payable to Green B. Trimble Technical High School with “Carol Mitchell Fund” in the memo line. Send checks to: Green B. Trimble Technical High School, Attn: Bernita Jackson, 1003 W. Cannon, Fort Worth, TX 76104

Services in Fort Worth:Friday, July 28, 6:00 PM-8:00 PM a gathering/storytelling in the Kirk Franklin Chapel at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, 2864 Mississippi Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76104Saturday, July 29, 12:00 noon, funeral service in the Kirk Franklin Chapel at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church, 2864 Mississippi Avenue, Fort Worth, Texas 76104Interment to follow at Greenwood Cemetery.

Service in San Antonio:Monday, July 31, 10:00 AM Memorial Mass in Our Lady’s Chapel at the University of the Incarnate Word, Columkille Administration Building, 4301 Broadway, San Antonio, TX 78209The mass will be live streamed: https://www.youtube.com/@uiw-umm and search “Mitchell Memorial Mass”.