Neil Carroll

Neil R. Carroll was born on August 7, 1934. By family background, he was a real Wyoming boy. His parents and grandparents lived most of their lives, died, and were buried, in Casper. Neil, his two older brothers Warren and Joe, and his younger sister Sharon, were all born in Casper. But Neil did not live there long.

Neil grew up on the island of Aruba, in the Netherlands Antilles. He went to grade school, and in 1953 graduated from high school, in Aruba. His father Earl, like several men from Casper, had taken a job at the oil refinery in Aruba as the Second World War began. During the war, the Dutch government-in-exile in London governed Aruba. Off the coast, Nazi U-boats would sometimes attack the oil tankers as they came to, and went from, the oil refinery. Life in Aruba could hardly have been more different from life in Casper, at least on the surface. But the family was the same. And Neil’s life was always mostly about his family.

Many important events in Neil’s young life occurred neither in Wyoming nor in Aruba. Neil served in the United States Army in California and Georgia in 1955 and 1956. He went to college at the University of Colorado in Boulder. During college he met Mary Davis. Neil and Mary graduated in 1959 and then were married that same year in Denver. Neil’s early jobs caused the couple to move around the country for a few years. Their first son Rich was born in Oklahoma City in 1960, and their second son Mike in Des Moines in 1963.

Later, Neil decided to return to Wyoming. In 1970, he moved his family to Cheyenne, in part to be close to his parents. Neil’s parents had by then returned to Casper after Neil’s father had retired from his job at the oil refinery in Aruba. Neil’s parents had also recently suffered a tragedy when their fourth son Brian, who had been born in Aruba, died very young. After his return to Wyoming, Neil would live in Cheyenne for the rest of his life.

Neil’s life in Cheyenne was again focused on his family. For many years, winter weekends were for driving around southeast Wyoming to watch his two sons play basketball, while summer weekends were for taking his whole family (and their friends) to Glendo for boating and water-skiing. Later in life, the best part of both winter and summer (in addition to golf) was visiting his four granddaughters in Colorado and watching their school and other activities. Neil was always happier the more of his family was together with him.

Neil R. Carroll died in Cheyenne on April 6, 2025. His brothers and his sister died before him. He is survived by his wife Mary, his sons Rich and Mike, and his four granddaughters Lauren, Mia, Claire, and Gianna. His family was with him when he died.