James B. Carroll

Born in Syracuse, New York on December 12, 1931
Departed in Indialantic, Florida, on March 27, 2019

In Loving Memory – James B. Carroll, 87
James Carroll of Indialantic, Florida passed away surrounded by members of his family on Wednesday, morning, March 27, 2019, in his home where he had lived for more than fifty years. Rainbows leapt into the sky, the winds howled, and hailstones the size of tangerines fell immediately thereafter.
Born December 12, 1931 in Utica, New York, he was the son of the late James and Mary Kelleher Carroll. He is survived by Anita, his beloved wife of 63 years, his eight children and their spouses: Maria (Kim) Anthony, James (Laurie) Carroll, Joseph (Joyce) Carroll, Kelli McLure, Christopher Carroll, Thomas (Olga) Carroll, Michael (Tina) Carroll, and Matthew (Meredith) Carroll; Forty one grandchildren: Jessica, Luke, Ben, Elizabeth, Isaac, James, Taylor, Shannon, Tighe, Mary Grace, John, Bethany, Anna, Emily, Joseph, Rachel, Michelle, Matthew, Anita, Abigail, Nathan, Olivia, Naomi, Tirzah, Chris, Shane, Shiloh, Gabriel, Katrina, Thomas, Sophia, Lydia, Mark, Dominic, Sebastian, Cana, Michael, Caleb, Max, Jack, and Charlie; Thirty one great grandchildren: Victoria, Johnathan, David, Landon, Nathan, Liam, Samuel, Samiah, Aiyden, Lily, Shelby, Wolfgang, Piper, Foster, Kirra, Kolby, Cian, Mickey, Heidi, Johnny, Ruby, Brody, Shane, Gianna, Nina, Alayna, Chip, Fia, Finn, Goldie, and Valerius, with more babies on the way.
Jim grew up and met his future wife in Little Falls, New York. After he was drafted into the US Army, he became one of the original missile pioneers and worked in the space industry for over 40 years. He was on the Redstone and Jupiter-C launch team and was in the small blockhouse for Explorer I, and worked at NASA from the beginning of the Mercury Program through the Space Shuttle Program. Throughout his life, his Catholic faith came first, a faith he and his wife shared generously within their family and beyond, serving with local community groups to feed the hungry, clothe the poor, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, defend the unborn, and honor the dead.
He was a fun father, a great baseball coach, an even better basketball coach, a father figure for his children’s friends, a lifelong romantic, an excellent story teller, a hardy camper, a steady travel companion, a dry wit, a faithful disciple, a friend to the friendless, a renowned wise man, and a loving grandfather.
There will be a viewing this Friday, March 27, 2019 from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Brownlie Maxwell funeral home, 1010 Palmetto Avenue, Melbourne 32901. There will be a funeral service this Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 1 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 3780 S Hwy A1A, Melbourne Beach, FL 32951. The burial to follow is at the old Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church Cemetery, 1422 Northeast Miller Street, Palm Bay Florida, 32905.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Genesis House at https://www.genesishousefl.org/
He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and all who knew him.