Mack Aaron Carroll

Mack Aaron Carroll, 87, passed away on April 15, 2023, in Belton, Texas.  He was born on January 31, 1936, in Arabi, Georgia to John and Maxine (Plummer) Carroll.

Visitation will be held at Sneed-Carnley Funeral Chapel on Wednesday, April 19, 2023 from 6 to 8 pm.  Funeral services will be held at Lampasas Methodist Church on Thursday, April 20, 2023, at 11 am with a Masonic Burial to follow at Smith Cemetery in Kempner, Texas.

Mack grew up in rural Georgia and lived with his grandparents while his father served in World War II and his mother worked in a munitions plant.  He then followed his dad on military moves to Yuma, Arizona; Alexandria, Virginia; and Salzburg, Austria.  He graduated from Salzburg Military High School in Salzburg, Austria in 1955.

After high school, he returned to the States, completed enlisted military training at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and settled in North Carolina where he was a member of the National Guard.  He decided to visit his parents who were by then stationed at Fort Hood.  Since he had at times been employed by the Army and Air Force Exchange (AAFES) he decided to apply for jobs with AAFES at Fort Hood.  He was successful in his job pursuit and was hired as a Retail Manager.  Shortly thereafter, he met Aleta Rae Oswalt and they were married in November 1965.  Shortly after their marriage, Mack was transferred to Bangkok, Thailand.  They spent two years there during the Vietnam War.  Upon returning to the US, he was assigned to Fort Ord, California.  Mack was challenged with overseeing the final construction of a new facility and opening the same.  Next, he was transferred to Colorado Springs, Colorado with duty assignments at Ent AFB, Peterson Field, and the US Air Force Academy.  Mack helped close Ent AFB, expand Peterson Field, and built a new facility at the Air Force Academy as owner representative/project manager.  Mack truly enjoyed this assignment, working with the upper ranks of the Air Force and the new Academy cadets.  Before this 4+ year tour was over, his only child, Brian Keith Carroll would be born in July of 1976.  Shortly after Brian's birth, Mack was transferred to Misawa AFB, in far northern Japan on an unaccompanied duty assignment.

His next assignment was stateside in Clovis, New Mexico at Cannon AFB.  In 1981 he completed the assignment at Cannon AFB and was transferred to Bergstrom AFB, Austin, Texas.  In 1984, he was transferred again, this time to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.  Based on the success of Mack, he was handpicked to be responsible for all retail operations in the central Pacific and was transferred in 1988 to Honolulu, Hawaii.  This was an assignment Mack truly enjoyed and he accomplished a number of firsts in AAFES history in his role there as Area Retail Manager.

Reaching his retirement goal, he retired on January 31, 1991, and settled in Lampasas County where his son Brian entered and graduated high school.  Mack was a member of the Masonic Lodge, Scottish Rite, Shriners, and First United Methodist Church.  He enjoyed woodworking and shooting sports with his son.  He received the Masonic Golden Trowel and fifty-year service awards.  He was also an active CASA volunteer.

Mack was preceded in death by his father, Sgt. John William Carroll and his mother, Maxine Plummer Carroll who are interred in Arlington National Cemetery, and his step-mom, Virginia Carroll who is interred in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mack is survived by his former spouse, Aleta Rae Carroll of Killeen, Texas; his son, Brian K. (Laura) Carroll of Belton, Texas; his sister, Linda (Gary) Seay of Waynesville, Missouri; his grandchildren, Creighton James Carroll and Cannon David Carroll; as well as his nieces, nephews and other relatives.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the Shriners Children's Hospitals, FUMC Lampasas, or CASA for the Highland Lakes.