Russell Leon Carroll

Memorial Services for Russell Leon “Rusty” Carroll, age 76 of Paris, TX will be at graveside with Military Honors in the Walters Cemetery, Walters, OK on Friday, May 8, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., Rev. Brad Spurlock officiating under the direction of Hart-Wyatt Funeral Home.

Rusty died October 13, 2025 at home. He was born October 10, 1949 at Fort Sill, OK to Helen Nadine Martin and Wilbur Gene Carroll.

Rusty was a 1967 graduate of Killeen High School. He and three other of his friends joined the U.S. Army in the fall of 1967. After deploying to Vietnam, he served with A Btry 1/30 Field Artillery and 1st Air Cavalry Division Headquarters. His decorations include Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, 2 Overseas Bars, the Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Expert 155mm Howitzer, and the Order of Saint Barbara Medal.

Rusty graduated from Mary Hardin Baylor in 1974, Belton, TX and then attended Baylor Law School, Waco, TX, graduating in 1976.

After Law School, he proudly served as a Felony Prosecutor in West Texas from 1978-1984. He was later elected District Attorney for the 32nd Judicial District of Texas, which included Nolan, Mitchell, and Fischer counties. From 1984-2000, he was a senior staff Assistant District Attorney for the 27th Judicial District of Texas, which contained Bell County and Lampasas Counties.

After retirement, he was in private practice from 2000-2012 in Harker Heights, TX. He was a Board-Certified Criminal Law Expert since 1984. He was a licensed Texas Peace Officer, holding a Master’s Peace Officer Certificate.

Survivors include his wife, Dianna Carroll; his daughter, Carrie Carroll Cobb; his siblings, sister, Sandy Schomaker, brothers, Buck Carroll, Bobby Birdwell, Thomas Carroll, and sisters Judy Branch and Debbie Gerard; 4 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

Rusty was preceded in death by a son, Christopher Martin Carroll; a daughter,

Robyn Lynn Zimmerman; a sister, Kathy Hobart; his step-father, Richard “Foots” Dilday Jr.; his mother, Helen Dilday; and his father, Wilbur Gene Carroll.