Thomas Francis Carroll III was born in Providence, RI on August 2, 1939. He grew up in Glendale and Pascoag, RI. His father, a musician and athlete, was a small-business owner and later a management consultant for a food service and beverage equipment company. His mother was an accomplished dressmaker and jewelry maker. Tom received his athletic and artistic talents from both of his parents. As a child, Tom was curious and adventurous. He enjoyed leading his 23 cousins on many exploratory missions during playtime and was affectionately called “General Tom” by them. He liked to build things and spent hours building scenery for his train display.

Tom graduated from Burrillville High School in 1957. He was a member of the YMCA Astronomy Club, the Rhode Island Honor Society and the National Athletic Honor Society. He was captain of the Burrillville state championship hockey team and was selected to the All-State first team while winning the trophy as the most valuable defenseman in the New England tournament. He was also a regular on the Burrillville football team. He was also a pianist like his Dad.

At West Point, his Howitzer entry noted he survived a minor demerit skirmish as a plebe but then went on to be remembered as a good scholar and athlete with a sense of humor and diligence, and a friend to all. He was also known as the “fiery Irishman with a mastery of the uke.” He was a superb hockey player and excelled in that sport for four years at Smith Rink, getting a major A in his yearling, cow and firstie years. His other interests included lacrosse, Catholic Choir, Glee Club, French Club, Camera Club and Model Railroad Club.

Tom met Diane Sullivan from Lowell, MA during cow year. They joked they came “pre-approved,” as they were introduced by their fathers, who were business associates. After graduation, Tom completed the airborne course at Fort Benning, GA and the Armor Officer Orientation Course at Fort Knox, KY. His first assignment was Fort Meade, MD; however, when the Berlin Wall construction started in August of 1961, his assignment changed to the 3rd Armored Cavalry (“Brave Rifles”) in Kaiserslautern, Germany. Many letters were written until June 22, 1963, when home on leave, he and Diane were married at St. Margaret’s, her childhood parish. Diane returned with him for the remainder of his tour. They enjoyed travel to Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Paris and welcomed daughter Shannon.

Tom left the Army September 15, 1964 and settled in Minneapolis, MN, where he earned a master’s in civil engineering at the University of Minnesota. In 1966 Michael was born, and twins, Molly and Jill, followed in 1968. In 1992 Tom began working for Bather, Ringrose and Wolsfeld Engineering Co. (BRW), which was eventually acquired by URS Corp., where he maintained an ownership position in both companies. He also obtained his private pilot license before the family moved to Denver, CO with BRW in 1984. In 2006 he began work for Matrix Design Group. He was highly regarded as a bridge designer. Of his more notable designs were the Veterans Pedestrian Bridge-HARP in Pueblo, CO; seven bridges at Stapleton Airport, including the 1,000-foot span Central Park Boulevard Bridge; and the six-lane Speer Boulevard Bridge in Denver. The latter received the Denver Public Work award. He served for over 25 years on an American Railway Engineer Association committee maintaining the design and construction of steel railway bridges.

Tom was an active volunteer. He served on the Architectural Committee for their Homeowners Association for 21 years. He volunteered for the Emily Griffith School, and his local Open Space Committee, building and maintaining trails, including those for the Sierra Club and Colorado Mountain Club, right up to his final years. He was a gifted craftsman, beyond the layouts for his trains. He built furniture and became a stained glass artist. He loved camping, skiing, and climbing. An early fascination with map reading and orienteering led him eventually to a 16-year exploration of northern Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness. The move to Denver opened up new recreational opportunities. Tom climbed 29 of Colorado’s “fourteeners,” mountains of over 14,000 feet; backpacked 350 of the 486 miles of the Colorado Trail; and went on to climb mountains in Washington, Alaska, France, Switzerland, Spain and Italy. He was a devout Catholic and enjoyed his men’s group at their parish.

Tom died in Littleton, CO on May 16, 2010 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Tom’s younger brother described him by saying, “Growing up with Tom, was not in his shadow, but under his wing.” Tom’s son memorialized him by saying: “My Dad never shied away from a challenge, whether that be climbing a mountain, skiing a double black diamond run, fording a river, or fighting pancreatic cancer. He approached them all the same way, with courage, conviction and humility. Duty, Honor, Country: These were not merely words to my father. They were the measure by which he lived his life. He understood that the little things mattered, for collectively they accounted for more than the most celebrated of achievements. They are the truest measures of one’s character and are the actions by which enduring legacies are built. Toward the end of his life, my father was asked how he wanted to be remembered. His answer was simple. ‘I’d like to be remembered as a good man.’ If you ask his friends and his family, they will tell you he was a great man.”