- Date Of Birth: October 25, 1930
- Date Of Death: January 14, 2022
- State: Wisconsin
Charles Wesley Carroll, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, died at the age of 91 on January 14, 2022. He was born in Toledo, Ohio to Louise Henrietta (Lucas) and Benjamin Harrison Carroll, M.D., on October 25, 1930, the youngest of three children.
Charlie pursued many interests throughout his life, beginning with music. With the encouragement of his mother and father, he and his older sisters were regular performers at the Toledo Museum of Art where he played the flute alongside Joan on the harp, and Louise playing cello. He was particularly fond of jazz, and had a keen interest in Gypsy Jazz, having promoted and sponsored European-based groups in the US.
Charlie valued athletics and encouraged participation in sports among his children, whether in team sports or simply to maintain physical health and fitness. Remarkably, he played on every team sport that his high school alma mater, Ottawa Hills (Toledo) offered.
He was a gentleman and a scholar. A lifelong learner, and an academic standout, Charlie attended Yale University where he studied math, physics, and plant science, earning a B.S. in 1952. From there, he attended Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa for two years as a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry, teaching half-time as a teaching assistant. In 1954, he was awarded a full scholarship funded collectively by the U.S. paper industry to the former Institute of Paper Chemistry in Appleton, Wisconsin where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1959. His thesis was awarded the Westbrook Steele Gold Medal as the outstanding thesis that year.
He married Barbara Jeanne Oudenhoven on June 14, 1955, in Appleton, Wisconsin. During the early years of their marriage, Charlie was a full-time student as well as a young father. Over the next 13 years, the couple had six children.
He had a long professional career, including positions with IBM in Charlotte, North Carolina, Owens Illinois Corporation in Toledo, Ohio, and Consolidated Papers in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin.
A lover of animals, he had a special interest in dogs and horses. He owned a beautiful quarter horse named Corona. Charlie and Corona worked together to master the art of reigning. They spent many long hours together at the stable. In addition, he and his wife bred many outstanding AKC boxers on the international level under the name Bentbrook Boxers.
Charlie was preceded in death by his mother and father, his sisters, Joan (Vetter,) and Louise (Wade), and two of his children, Barbara, in 1981, and Michael, in 2007. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Barbara Jeanne, and his sons Charles ‘Chuck’, of Rancho Mirage, California, Scott (Denise) of Grand Haven, Michigan, Jeffrey (Becky) of Matthews, North Carolina, Peter (Lisa) of Stillwater, Minnesota, and Sue Vasko, Michael’s partner, of Toledo, Ohio. Also surviving are six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The body will be interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Toledo, Ohio beside his parents and his children, Mike, and Barbie.
