John Carroll was my first mentor as a young lawyer.   John was always accessible, and very supportive.  If you went to him with a question, John would pull out his left desk file drawer.  He always had an answer.  And this was the case with all the attorneys; we referred to it as the magic file drawer.  There must have been thousands of papers in that one drawer because for years he would always have the answer in that drawer.

In addition to astounding us with his organizational powers, I always appreciated his unflinching support with management.  As a young woman attorney, the aircraft industry isn't necessarily a leader in advocating women's rights.  If someone complained about “that woman (or girl)…” John would always ferret out pure bias from a substantive complaint.  John would investigate any questions he had, but he really always “had my back.”

John was very generous as well.  Off the job, we would interact with him both in Newport Beach, sailing with our family along on a ship he would captain, to being at a party in Canyon Lake hosted by John and Glenda.  I remember the seemingly mile long sub-sandwiches and beer at Canyon Lake and marveling at the sheer magnitude of toys John had amassed.  We played horseshoes, road on boats, floated on the lake and generally had a great time.

John really enjoyed life.  Unlike others, he struck a balance between work and play, so that one would not suffer for the other.  We will miss John, the catalyst for both diligent work and good times.  

My best wishes for your family, John,  Love, Shary Kee

     In the late 1940s and early 1950s, John Carroll, Calvin Brown, and I were the three musketeers of Bell, California.  We went everywhere and did everything together.  At that time Bell was an all-white, blue-collar town.  It was a safe place to live and roam, and had everything three teen-age boys needed—a high school, a park, a movie theater, the Los Angeles Riverbed and a downtown that was within easy walking distance--and, of course, there was girls.
 When we got older and had access to a car, we would often drive to the neighboring town of Huntington Park, where a fast-food place sold hamburgers for 20 cents each or six for a dollar.  We would each buy a dollar's worth, along with something to drink, sit in the car and eat the whole bag.  We three could down 18 hamburgers within minutes.  My stomach hurts just thinking of it now.
 In 1955, after graduating high school, John, Larry Barr, and I decided to take a trip.  Calvin wasn't able to come.  Larry was a half-year ahead of John and me, having graduated the previous June (we graduated in February), but he was a good friend and often hung out with we “musketeers.” Our original intent was to drive northward along the coast for a few days, then return to Bell.  The plan, such as it was, was blessed by our parents and we set off in my red Chevy convertible with our sleeping bags in the trunk and enough money to buy food and gas for the short trip.  Once we got to northern California, we decided that going a bit farther wouldn't hurt, so we wandered up through Oregon to Washington.  At that point we decided that we could extend the trip a bit farther if we were careful with our money, so we headed east to Yellowstone National Park, south through Utah's Great Salt Lake,  Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and then to Las Vegas before returning home.  The trip lasted two or three weeks.  We slept on the ground, showered in campgrounds, and ate two fast-food meals a day.  Our parents had no idea where we were for most of that time, although we did send post cards so they knew where we had been.  That trip was just the thing for three 18-year-olds who were about to leave their “nests” and head off to college and careers.  I talked to Larry a few days ago.  We reminisced about the trip and agreed that it was special, made more so because John was part of it.
 The last time we three musketeers were together was in the late 1990s.  John and Glenda were on a driving trip that took them through Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  Cal and Carrie lived in Spokane, Washington, just a few minutes away, and Sharon and I were living in Corvallis, Oregon, which was only a day's drive away.  The six of us had a delightful couple of days talking about old times, eating good food and drinking good wine.
 Even though we were not in frequent contact the last several decades, I shall never forget John---he was an important part of my early life. 

30 January, 2014

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Eternal Hills Mortuary & Crematory at Eternal Hills Memorial Park

John Carroll

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John Henry Carroll Jr.

March 10, 1937 – January 7, 2014

Eternal Hills Mortuary & Crematory at Eternal Hills Memorial Park

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