The Great-Grandfather That I Just Missed

At the beginning of this project, I was planning look to back at my great, great, great uncle Alanzo Dunn but the lack of credible information forced me to give up the search. It was at this point that my mother recommended that I try researching her grandfather and my great-grandfather. 

Prince Wilbert Carroll, my great-grandfather on my grandmother’s side, was born in the small town of Sheppards Virginia on September 21^st, 1931. Between here and until the time he was an adult we do not know too much about him. It was not until Prince met my great-grandmother, JoAnne Carroll, that we really knew anything about him. He was first starting out his military career in the army when he got sick with the flue and had to go to the hospital. JoAnne was a nurse at that base and she was the one who took care of him while he was on bed rest and from then on it was history. They were together for two years before they eventually got married.

            Together they had three daughters, Susan Curran (Grandmother), Judy Carroll, Sonja Waldridge and one son Prince David Carrol. For the most part, they moved around quite often until they Prince retired at the age of 50 where they moved to the town of Columbus Georgia where he and my great-grandmother JoAnne would stay until their death.

            While in the United States Army  Prince Wilbert would go through two wars including the Korean and Vietnam war where he would rise to the command of Sergeant 1^st class. Soldiers holding this rank serve as the senior NCO (non-commissioned officer) in a company-sized unit, which is usually around 150 soldiers. They are recognized as the most tactically and technically competent as well as experienced NCO's in companies. As far as I know and what I have heard he fought in both wars and would eventually come home to work as a training officer until retirement.

Sadly on July 20^th of 1999 Prince Wilbert died of a heart attack at the age of 67 while on a morning jog in his neighborhood. He was later buried in Park Hill Cemetery in their veterans section. 15 years later his wife JoAnne Carroll would join him after dying of Alzheimer’s disease. They were both buried in the same plot sharing a bevel gravestone in Park Hill Cemetery where they will always be together. 

I was never able to meet Prince Wilbert for two months before I was born he passed away. My mother loved him very much and he loved her as well. I recall my mom (Christa Yantis) once telling me this story about how she and my dad (John Dunn) did not want to know the sex of the baby until the time came but whenever asked the question Prince would always say “it’s going to be a boy, I just know it”. I was never able to meet this man that was loved deeply by his family so that is why I am glad of this project because through researching him and hearing some of the stories told about him I was finally able to meet the great-grandfather that I had missed; the great-grandfather that I loved me before he ever had the chance to meet me. This has been a pleasure and so until next time, I see dead people.

Info: Ancestry, Find a Grave, Family