Beryl Bolton McCarroll Pickle, 93 died Friday, October 27, 2011. She was born in 1917 in Rusk, Texas to Hazel Chessher Bolton and Tracy Lamar Bolton. In 1936, she married James Graham McCarroll, who was the Parts Manager at Cherokee Motors in Jacksonville. Their son, Richard Tracy McCarroll, was born in 1943. A second son, David Graham McCarroll, was born in 1947. Tragedy struck the family the next year, when James Graham McCarroll died suddenly at the age of 35, leaving Beryl a 30-year-old widow with two little boys. At the encouragement of Beryl’s sister, Frances Benson, and childhood friend, Sue Stearns, Beryl left the security of her home in Jacksonville and courageously moved her sons to Austin in 1952 to start a new life.
In Austin, Beryl first worked for the Great National Insurance Company, and then for many years worked for the Texas Motor Transportation Association. After a whirlwind courtship of eight years, in 1960 Beryl married James Jarrell “Jake” Pickle of Austin, a widower with one daughter, Peggy. At first, Beryl anticipated a quiet life as a wife and the mother of three teenagers. Things changed quickly in 1963 when Jake was elected to the United States Congress representing Texas’ 10th Congressional District. Beryl, a small-town East Texas girl, suddenly found herself on a national stage, attending political functions in Washington D.C. and Texas, and traveling the world. Although at first hesitant about their complicated new life, Beryl adapted quickly and became one of Jake’s greatest political assets. She gave him an enormous gift: the freedom to work long hours and devote his considerable energy to his constituents. When Jake retired from Congress in 1995, he devoted himself to local projects and served on multiple boards. Beryl continued to be his mainstay. She reminisced fondly about their 31-year career in Washington, but said often that she didn’t miss the cold winters or the flying back-and-forth.
Jake Pickle died in June 2005. Beryl is pre-deceased by sisters Barbara Bolton Salmon and Frances Bolton Benson. She is survived by her children, Richard Tracy (Dick) McCarroll and his wife, Missy; David Graham McCarroll and his wife, Marsha; and stepdaughter Peggy Pickle and her husband, Don Cook all of Austin; sisters Lois Bolton Wyatt of San Marcos, and Hazel Ann (Bunny) Bolton Beall of Jacksonville; six grandchildren; four great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at First United Methodist Church, 1201 Lavaca on Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 2 p.m., followed by a reception in the church fellowship hall. Interment at the Texas State Cemetery will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to Austin Speech Labs, 7800 Shoal Creek Blvd., Ste. 240 S, Austin, TX 78757 or the First United Methodist Church of Austin, 1201 Lavaca, Austin, TX 78701. Obituary and memorial guestbook available online at www.wcfish.com
