b. February 16, 1941

by Eugenie Waddell (Genie) Carr, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Winston-Salem, NC, 2016

Carroll McCullough is a native of Alabama, born in the small town of Ozark. She and her two siblings “were blessed with a wonderful extended family of aunts, uncles and cousins.”

Carroll received her higher education in Alabama at Auburn University and in North Carolina at Wake Forest University. She has been married to David L. McCullough, a urologist (now retired), for 55 years. They had four children, two of whom are deceased. Carroll was a computer programmer and systems analyst. In answer to a comment that computers have changed a lot in recent years, she noted that when she learned programming, “The computer was a Univac 1108 that was so large it took up a large section of the building’s second floor! Although computers have changed significantly, the sequential thinking/logic of programming probably hasn’t changed as much.”

That kind of thinking, no doubt, got Carroll to a large number of community and church committees, including being the head of many of them. The McCulloughs joined St. Paul’s in 1983, when they moved to Winston-Salem. They had visited churches in many cities as David’s medical career moved them around the country. Carroll grew up a Methodist; David was a Lutheran. When they found the Episcopal Church, Carroll said, they knew they were home. Carroll loved the beauty of the liturgy, and David felt right at home with it.

Carroll dived right into activities in both St. Paul’s and Winston-Salem. She volunteered in her children’s schools. A cancer survivor, she headed up Winterlark, which benefits the Cancer Patient Support Program of the Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center. She was president of the board of the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA) and the boards of Ronald McDonald House, Friends of Ronald McDonald House, and on the board of Trinity Center in Winston-Salem. A regional association of fundraisers awarded her the 2007 Philanthropy Award (Volunteer).

All of that was in the community. Carroll’s list of activities at St. Paul’s is even more impressive. She worked on, and often led, many church committees, including Stewardship; lead-gifts committee of the Capital Campaign – then was Senior Warden during the construction of the $15 million addition/renovation. She led two Discernment Committees and a Rector Search Committee; and was chairman of the Altar Guild and has served on it for many years. She has also served as a chalice bearer. She served on the Newcomers (now Welcome) Committee for more than 15 years and is passionate about welcoming newcomers as a paramount service of the church, giving new members a spiritual home and the parish fresh air from other places.

Going beyond the parish, Carroll was a Diocesan Convention delegate. She was also a member of the Diocesan Council, where, she said, “I felt blessed to serve under Bishop Curry, and to work with Canon Michael Hunn.”