Kenneth Leroy Carroll
(Ivy Louise Peery, John Thomas Peery II, John Thomas Peery, Sr. M.D.,
Thomas J. Peery)
By Ivy Peery-Fenske
January 25, 1999
Kenneth Leroy Carroll was born 13 August 1957 in Corcoran, Kings Co.,
California. His mother: Ivy Louise Peery- [Carroll Fenske] Brunsell. His
father: William Henry Carroll.
The family lived in Bakersfield, Kern Co., California. I had just gone to
Corcoran, Ca. so that my family could help me when Kenny was born.
Kenny was in the Bakersfield Grammar Schools, but I do not recall the
names. In 1969, I had divorced Mr. Carroll, and Kenny and Elizabeth
Carroll and I moved to Grover City, California. (The name of Grover City
was changed a number of years ago to Grover Beach.) It is situated about
20 miles south of San Luis Obispo, and 90 miles north of Santa Barbara.
Grover City is one of the Five Cities in that area. It is within just
two to five miles of the towns of Pismo Beach, Shell Beach, Availa Beach,
Oceano Beach, and Arroyo Grande, California on US Highway 101. It is a
tourist town, known as the Clam Capitol of the World.
Kenny went to Arroyo Grande High School. However, he did not finish his
senior year. Instead, he decided to join the United States Marine Corps.
He enlisted when he was 17, and went to San Diego, California for boot
training. He was assigned to the Third Battalion, Platoon #3131. He
graduated on 14 February 1975, as a private. The family went to San Diego
to see him graduate. We all were so very proud of him. Following
graduation, he was sent to North Carolina for further training.
As Kenny was growing up in Bakersfield, I remember he was very good in
tennis, swimming and he had a talent in Art, drawing many different
kinds of pictures. He enjoyed living at the Pismo Beach area, just a mile
from Grover City where you can go directly to the beach. He enjoyed
photographs of the beautiful sunsets in the night's sky. He was very
generous, and always seemed to help people less fortunate than he.
While living at Grover City, he was a member of the Hockey Skating Union
of United States, Affiliate of RSROA & Member AAU, Puck Ball Hockey. The
team he played on was called the "Raiders." The team travelled as far as
Reno, Nevada for Hockey Skating tournaments. In his life time (1980 to
1889), we lived at Colfax, California in the mountain country, having
access to the rivers and streams people would go to for Gold Panning. At
times, Kenny would find some little nuggets of gold. He had a lot of fun
doing just that. One time, he took a group of school students along with
their teacher on a trip to the Bear River, near Colfax. He taught the
students how to pan for gold.
Among his many jobs, including building construction, he was an auto body
painter. He had a talent, such that he was very good, and worked on
antique cars to restore, such that he painted them. He also had some auto
mechanic experience. He was a member of the Laborer's International Union
of North America for the construction. He also worked when they built the
I-5 freeway through Auburn, Calfiornia, north and south points. I was and
am very proud of him.
Kenny, had step brothers and sisters. They were: Angelea
Carroll-Henderson, of Bakersfield; Mike Carroll, of Bakersfield; William
"Bill" Carroll, of Ridgecrest, California; and a sister. These I mention
were from the marriage of his father (before I had married him). I had two
children being married to William Henry Carroll, Kenneth Leroy Carroll
being my first child and Elizabeth Ann Carroll, the second child. Kenny
had a step-brother, Robert Allen (Robie) Fenske, and Lorelie Fenske
(children of his step-father who is Robert Henry Fenske).
Kenny's full sister was Elizabeth Ann Carroll. Since I was previously
married to Brunsell, before I married Carroll, Kenny also had a half
sister, Cathy Louise Brunsell-Anderson-Annane. The children all got
along very well.
In about August 1989, Kenny moved to Reno, Nevada for work in
construction. My husband, Robert H. Fenske and I had moved to Glendale,
Arizona to be near our daughter, Elizabeth Ann Carroll-Johnson.
On the night of April 8, 1990, we all got a telephone call from the
Police Department in Reno, Nevada, that my son, Kenny, had been killed in
Sparks, Washoe Co., Nevada, by a drunk driver. So you can understand it,
Kenny had just come home from town. His neighbor, Sam, was driving his
vehicle back and forth in an alley by Kenny's house. Sam was beating up on
his wife, and the wife was yelling for Kenny to help her from her husband.
Kenny ran over there quickly to help the wife. Kenny tried to talk Sam out
of his vehicle. Sam was very drunk. Somehow Sam knocked Kenny to the
ground. Kenny fell to the roadway by Sam's vehicle. Sam, being so drunk,
drove his car over Kenny's chest. (I was told by my doctor that Kenny died
instantly, but papers stated he probably lived an hour after he was hit by
the vehicle. Such a hard time for me.)
Shortly after Kenny's death, I received a certificate whereas it said:
The United States of America honors the memory of KENNETH
L. CARROLL. This certificate is awarded by a grateful nation in
recognition of devoted and selfless consecration to the service of our
country in the Armed Forces of the United States.
(S) George Bush, President of the United States
This was definately an honor to his mother and his family.
We immediately went from Arizona to Reno to take care of everything.
Kenny's body was transported to Bakersfield, California. Kenny was buried
with Military Honors on April 14, 1990, at Greenlawn Memorial Park, 3700
River Blvd., Bakersfield, Ca. 93305. On his head stone it reads: "Private
Kenneth Leroy Carroll." At the bottom it reads: "Kenny, Son and Brother We
Love You Always."
Editor - Peery Family
History
Home Page
Return to Home
Page