Robert H. Carroll “B.O.B.”, 95, of Smethport, passed away on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at Olean General Hospital.
He was born on October 27, 1928, in Mapleton Depot, he was a son of the late James H. Carroll and Vera Flo (Corbin) Carroll.
He was a 1946 graduate of Jeannette High School, received a Bachelor of Science from Indiana State Teachers College in Indiana, and earned a Master of Arts at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV.
On June 22, 1956, he married Shirley Woodle, who passed away on June 8, 1999.
Bob proudly served in the United States Army from 1954-1956 as a 1st Lieutenant and served one year as a Battalion Adjutant with the 2nd Armored Division in Germany.
He taught Geography in Pennsylvania schools including Youngwood and Port Allegany. Complimenting his career, in 1961 he attended the Institute of American Studies sponsored by the State University of New York and held at Oyster Bay in Long Island. As a Fulbright Scholar he studied and traveled throughout Brazil in 1963, earning graduate credits from the University of Brazil. In 1970 he was participated in the National Supervisor’s Seminar, which included study and travel throughout India.
He served on the Education Faculty at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He became the geography–World Cultures Advisor to the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg and later the State Coordinator for the Pennsylvania In-Service-For-Credit Program before retiring from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1986.
Bob enjoyed the outdoors and was an avid fisherman and hunter, introduced to both by his Grandmother Corbin and Uncles DeHaven and Deorde Corbin in Huntingdon County. He fished and hunted in many US states as well as in Germany. He spent many summers at Weslemkoon Lake in Ontario, Canada with friends. In addition to academic travel to Brazil and India, Bob enjoyed other adventures in Germany and The Netherlands while stationed abroad, Canada, California, Colorado, Alaska, England, Scotland, Ireland, Belize, and a freighter trip through the Caribbean. He loved his dogs from the first, Trixie, he had as a child, to his most recent, Keana, named after McKean County.
For some years after his retirement, Bob resided in Estero, Florida, spending summers and falls in Smethport, before moving to Kent Hollow permanently.
He was a Master Mason with Jeannette F&AM Lodge #750. He was a Life Member of the VFW, the American Legion, the National Rifle Association, and the 2nd Armored Division Association. He was a member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Port Allegany, and a former member of Camp Hill United Methodist Church in Camp Hill, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Jeannette.
Bob was an active participant in the North Central PA Slovenian Polka Boosters, the annual Johnstown Polka Festival, John Berg’s Polka Parties, Norwich Township Sportsmen’s Association, and had a regular bar stool at the Crosby American Legion as well at the Smethport VFW.
Surviving are two sons, William Carroll of Smethport, and Bruce Carroll of Belize, one daughter, Catherine Carroll of Seattle, WA.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Shirley in 1999, his sister, Joanne Carroll Bosnak in 2002, his first-born son, Robert James Carroll, in 1962, and his companion of many years, Amelia Frick in 2021.
A celebration of life will be held in McKean County at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts are suggested to be made to any local hospice organization.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Hollenbeck-Cahill Funeral Homes, Inc.
Online condolences may be made at www.hollenbeckcahill.com