Carroll C. Trail, Ph.D.

Forney, TX

Carroll C. Trail, longtime physics professor at Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, passed away Sunday night, August 16, 2020, in East Lansing, Michigan, at the age of 92.  He was born on December 25, 1927, in Forney, Texas, the youngest of three children of Lilly Knox and Newt Shands Trail. Carroll graduated from Forney High School in 1945 as valedictorian, having served as editor of the school newspaper. He then enlisted in the army, spending a summer in basic training at Texas A&M University, before being sent to serve as a guard at Los Alamos National Lab, where he participated in Operation Crossroads in the South Pacific in 1946. The army experience was transformative, sparking his interest in physics. At Los Alamos, when the scientists came out for cigarette breaks, he would approach them to ask about their work. He always remembered their encouragement and patience.

Upon his return to Texas A&M after serving, he decided to major in physics, staying on to complete Master’s and Doctoral degrees. During his senior year, a roommate pressed him into a double-date, where he met Omi Ruth Corley, a student at Texas State College for Women. They hit it off immediately and married on December 22, 1951. As Carroll began his research for his PhD they moved to Tennessee, where he worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Upon completion of his thesis, he accepted a position as nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago, Illinois. Their three children were born there. Carroll also indulged his interests in politics, serving as Democratic Committeeman for DuPage County. In the early 1960s, he became interested in moving to the academic arena, ultimately accepting a position at Brooklyn College, where he spent the rest of his career teaching and conducting research. He became department chair 1969 and served in that position until 1976, steering the department through social unrest and the financial crisis. As chair he was able to procure a particle accelerator for the college, providing a valuable resource for research to faculty and graduate students. He was himself a prolific researcher and collaborator, spending summers at Carnegie-Mellon University and at the California Institute of Technology, as well as sabbatical years at the Saclay Nuclear Research Centre outside Paris and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  He was a Fellow of the American Physical Society and an active member for many decades.

Carroll loved how the academic schedule allowed him to be home weekends and holidays.  He enjoyed playing with his children when they were little, serving as in-house homework tutor when they were older, as well as discussing baseball, politics, and science. He said it was important to have an engaging job to provide a compelling focus once the children have grown and left home. He was an avid reader, with a passion for history, who also enjoyed mysteries and his daily New York Times. In the early years of his marriage, he and Omi played bridge with friends, an activity he returned to when they retired to Denton, Texas in 1991. Upon Omi’s passing in 2006, he moved to Dallas, where he reconnected with his high school sweetheart, Gloria Clouse Miller, who brought tremendous joy to the final fourteen years of his life. As his health began to fail, his children moved him to East Lansing, Michigan, where his daughter Frances Trail (Bill Schneider) lives. His daughter Ann Trail (David Picker) lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and son Wayne Trail (Terry Goforth) in Weatherford, Oklahoma. In addition to his children and their spouses, he leaves seven grandchildren, his companion Gloria, and her extended family.

Carroll attributed his more than nine decades to being a lifelong runner and having a spouse with a commitment to good nutrition.  He is remembered as a man with a great sense of humor who could strike up a conversation with anybody (and often did). His generous spirit always welcomed new family members. He was deeply loved and will be tremendously missed by his family. The family is extremely grateful for the loving care put forth by the staff at Burcham Hills Retirement Community in East Lansing Michigan, especially during the covid shutdown.

A memorial for Carroll will take place at a future time. Memorial contributions may be made to the Denton (Texas) Public Library or a public library of your choice.

Arrangements are by the Estes-Leadley Greater Lansing Chapel. www.EstesLeadley.com