Johnie Lee Carroll, Jr., 79, of Mansfield, TX passed away peacefully on March 1, 2020 at his home with his wife Opal by his side. He was a loyal and faithful member of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX.
He was born on August 18,1940 in Streetman, TX to the late Johnie Lee Carroll, Sr. and Iamer Peterson Davis.
He graduated from Dogan High School in 1960 where he was a standout athlete excelling at Basketball, Baseball, and Track & Field. Growing up in the Jim Crow South and a small town with less than 200 people, he utilized those athletic skills to get an opportunity for a higher education. He matriculated to Midwestern State University where he was the first African American awarded a 4 year scholarship to play basketball. He was a History major with a Physical Education minor. It was at MSU that he met his 1st wife, Jane K. Marshall.
Midwestern State subsequently offered him a one year Track & Field scholarship giving him an opportunity to complete his studies. As was characteristic of Johnie, once he earned a scholarship to MSU, he made sure that some of his good friends, who were also amazing athletes, were afforded the same opportunity to get an education by pushing Midwestern State to offer more scholarships to these young black men.
After attending MSU, he taught history at Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School in Ft. Worth, TX and was also a basketball coach. At OMM, he touched the lives of many of the young African American boys with his unique brand of motivation, discipline, and work ethic.
Professionally he began a lifelong career in the life insurance business in 1965, and practiced this career into his late 60's. His first company was Prudential Insurance Company and afterward he joined the staff of New York Life Insurance Company and was there for 20+ years where he earned numerous accolades and achieved sales goals that enabled him to take his family on amazing trips that he had won. Surely this was the impetus for his youngest daughter's love and obsession for traveling the world.
Throughout his career, he gave of his time and talent to his daughters and other young people. His oldest daughter was a track star from a young age, often racing against boys and beating them at track meets. To cultivate that talent, he established the NYLIC Track Club. At one point, the team consisted of more than 100 girls and boys participating in track and field during the sweltering Texas summers. However, this was not simply a summer past time for him and a core group of parents. NYLIC teams won State championships, Regional championships and ultimately he took teams to National track and field events to compete against the best kids in the country. While winning was fun, he found more enjoyment in exposing kids to experiences they might never had the opportunity to indulge in as well as leaving the DFW area let alone the state of Texas.
He is survived by his wife Opal Diane Carroll and his two daughters with his first wife, Pamela V. Carroll (John) and Yolanda M. Carroll. He is also survived by his sisters Lily Fay Haynes and Mary Jo Carroll and was preceded in death by his sisters, Johnnie Mae McDaniel and Irma Williams. Other survivors include his two stepsons Paxton Payton and Pavin Payton; Step Grandchildren - Jackson, Caleb, Dawson, and Ensley; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives and friends.
There will be a Wake held at Shannon Rose Hill Funeral Chapel in Ft. Worth, TX on Friday, March 6 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Mr. Carroll was a loyal member of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, TX. A Homegoing service will be held on Saturday, March 7 at 11am.
