Jefferson E. Carroll

August 26, 1937 – June 1, 2025

 

Rest in peace Jeff. You are missed.

Jeff Carroll peacefully passed away on June 1, 2025. He was one of my best friends and I will always miss his stories, his songs, and his booming laugh.

Jefferson, “Jeff”, Carroll, a fifth generation Houstonian, was the only child born to Mildred Hale Dargan Carroll and Festus Royal Carroll. Jeff spent his first years in the family home on Crawford Street.

Jeff spent the remainder of his youth in Weimar, Texas, where his father purchased a home in 1944 and began several businesses revolving around agriculture. Jeff and his parents were very involved in the community, participating in church life, scouting, school support, and many other activities. Both parents participated deeply in Boy Scouts throughout the region. Among other achievements, Jeff earned an Explorer Silver Award in 1954 from the Boy Scouts of America, and he was a letterman in football at Weimar High School, where he was graduated in 1955.

Jeff attended the University of Houston for his freshman year, ’55-56, where he was already receiving commendations for his writing prowess; however a larger portion of his heart was with the Gulf Coast of Texas. He decided to enlist in the US Coast Guard in 1956, where he served until he received an honorable discharge in 1961. At the time of his discharge, Jeff was already in reserve service and had been concurrently attending Stephen F. Austin University in pursuit of a degree in forestry. Jeff received many awards while at SFA, and he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in forestry in 1962.

While in the Coast Guard in Corpus Christi, Jeff met and subsequently married Paula Odell Donnell of Corpus Christi. The two of them worked hard together to make a home and see that Jeff realized his aspirations of becoming a forester. After graduating SFA, Jeff’s first main posting with the United States Forest Service was in the mountains of North Georgia, working in the national forest system in both GA and South Carolina. Jeff’s two children, Deborah Odell Carroll and Kelly Kathleen Carroll (Clement), were both born during that time.

Ultimately, Jeff pursued a 25-year career in the USFS, wherein he advanced from being the first “Interpretive Forester” in the Southeastern Region to being the International Coordinator of Environmental Education. During his career, in addition to the postings in GA, he and the family were part of the forest service in Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, and Washington, DC (Fairfax, VA). After Alabama, Jeff (and family) took a year to gain his Master’s Degree of Environmental Education from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. During his time with the USFS, Jeff developed and oversaw many quality programs, “teaching teachers to teach”, as he said, environmental education. He was instrumental in the development of the Woodsy Owl initiative (“Give a Hoot; Don’t Pollute”), worked in the early years on aspects of “Earth Day”, and never missed an opportunity to show up to his daughter’s schools to talk to the kids about Smokey the Bear and, later, Woodsy Owl.

If you are interested in reading his complete obituary, here is the Link

 

If you wish to contact me (Trish) email Legendary Texas.