He was born on September 30, 1942, in San Antonio, Texas to Paul and Mary Virginia (Swift) Carroll.
John attended Snyder High School and graduated in the class of 1960, along with Paula Ruth Keaton who he later married in 1962. He joined the Airforce in 1965 and served till 1969. He spent most of his young adult life living and working in the Abilene area before raising his family in nearby Hawley in 1981.
John was a serial entrepreneur throughout his life. He had an incredible aptitude for learning new tasks and a keen business sense. He also had an incredibly curious mind that could only be assuaged by taking on new and varied projects. You only need to look at the diversity of businesses he undertook during his life to get a sense of his indomitable spirit of entrepreneurship. His businesses included Keaton Kolor (film processing), Carroll Film Processing, Carroll Farms, The Jones County Journal (newspaper), Burger Barn (restaurant), and Carroll’s Donuts.
He took a break from his business adventures in the ’90s to pursue his bachelor’s degree. He graduated from Hardin Simmons University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in computer science and journalism.
John and Paula moved to San Angelo in 1998 where they have owned and operated Keaton Kolor for the last 22 years.
John will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 57 years, Paula and his children, John Mark (Kristie), Jonathan (Vibhu), and Matthew (Mindy). John will also be fondly remembered by his four grandchildren, Lauryn, Luke, Brandon, and Madison.
He was preceded in death by his daughter, Laura Carroll, and sister Kay.
