John Phillip Carroll

JOHN PHILLIP CARROLL, 87, Little Rock, Arkansas. The end chapter of a very good book quietly closed on Saturday morning in the Heights of Little Rock. John Phillip Carroll, 87, died peacefully in his own home on Fillmore Street where he had lived with his wife Diane for more than 48 years. Phil Carroll was born in Fort Smith, Ark. on Aug. 1, 1925 to Josephine and John Carroll and had one sister, JoAnn. He graduated from Fort Smith High School in 1943, and a few months after receiving his diploma, Phil received his request to join the Army. The years as a soldier never left Phil. He arrived at the front lines in Europe as a 19-year-old Squad Leader, Staff Sergeant and spent his first Christmas Mass in Strasbourg bearing his service rifle. On a bitter snowy day in January 1945, Phil, along with his unit, were captured by the German Army Panzer Division in the battle of Hatten, which occurred just after the Battle of the Bulge. He was captured and became a German prisoner of war in Stalag IV B until the war's end. After returning from the war, Phil attended the University of Arkansas where he completed his degree and gained a law degree on the GI Bill. He was a member of the Kappa Sigma and Delta Theta Phi Fraternities. Only three months after gaining a job with the Rose Law Firm, Phil was called back to duty for the Korean War. Fate and friendship shined upon him. His best friend, Jack Deacon, who was serving in the Pentagon, asked Phil to join him in Washington, D.C. Aside from his family, Phil's most prized role was as a member of the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, Ark. Phil joined the Rose Law firm in 1950, which was then known as Rose, Meek, House, Barron and Nash. Over the course of 63 years in practice, Phil remained with one firm, the oldest law firm on this side of the Mississippi River. He believed that he practiced under and with some of the finest lawyers to ever practice in the State of Arkansas. He was a lifelong member of the Pulaski County Bar Association serving as its President in 1967 and received the Lawyer Award in 1980. He was also very active in the Arkansas Bar Association serving as its President in 1980-81, Foundation President in 1969, and Chairman of the Executive Committee. He obtained numerous awards throughout his career, including the C.E. Ransick Award of Excellence, the Ike Scott Fellow Award, the Outstanding Lawyer of Arkansas Award, and the University of Arkansas Outstanding Alumnus Award. He was a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, and a Member of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association representing The Uniform Law Commission. For most of his long career, Phil served as a Uniform Law Commissioner on behalf of Arkansas, serving as President of the entire national Conference of Commissioners from 1985-87. He became a Life Member in 1989 and received the organization's Lifetime Achievement Award. The Uniform Law Commission is the national organization that is responsible for studying and developing the uniform laws adopted by the fifty states to govern issues from commercial law to family law. Phil was a charter member and Secretary of the Arkansas Supreme Court Jury Instruction Committee that developed the pattern instructions used by juries throughout the state today. He served as a Special Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1979, taught Evidence and Trial Practice at the Arkansas Law School and Communications Law at UALR. He was a Charter Barrister in the William R. Overton Chapter of Inns of Court. His devotion to practice and the Rose Firm ended only with his life as he maintained a daily schedule at the firm until his death this week. Phil was a lifelong Catholic whose faith in the Church never wavered. He attended Holy Souls Parish in Little Rock for more than 59 years serving as a lector, President of the Parish Council, President of the Little Rock Serra Club, President of the St. Thomas More Society, and President of the Allen School for Exceptional Children. Phil was active in the Little Rock community serving as President of the National Conference on Christians and Jews, and the Health and Welfare Council of Pulaski County. The light in Phil's eyes was reserved for one, his wife Diane to whom he was married for almost 60 years. They met at a very young age and Phil followed this beautiful Braniff flight attendant by car from airport to airport until she married him. They have been friends always, and the two of them together were the warmth and light of every dinner and party they ever attended. They traveled throughout Europe with many friends over their time together. Diane and Phil had three daughters: Becky Carroll (Linda Spink) of Washington, D.C.; Susan Minshall (Bob) of Dallas, Texas; and Elizabeth Bradbury (Jim) of Austin, Texas; and grandchildren, Margaret Payne (Trey), Grace and Ellen Minshall, and Sam and Jack Bradbury. A visitation will be held at Ruebel Funeral Home from 5-7 on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013 and a funeral mass will be held at Holy Souls Catholic Church on Wednesday morning, March 13, morning at 11 a.m., with a reception following in the Parish Hall. A private family graveside service will follow at Mt. Holly Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Msgr. Allen Trust Fund at Holy Souls School, The Stewpot at First Presbyterian Church in Little Rock, the Uniform Law Foundation in Chicago, IL, or the charity of your choice. Arrangements by Ruebel Funeral Home, www.ruebelfuneralhome.com.