Wes was born on August 27, 1946 in Springfield, Missouri to Warren and Bonnie (Fry) Carroll.

The family moved to Iowa when he was a child to be closer to the Carroll family. He attended schools in Lakeview and Auburn, Iowa.

When Wes was 17 years old, he joined the United States Navy. He served on a new Guided Missile Destroyer, the USS Cochrane, DDG 21, after it was built and commissioned in Puget Sound, Washington. He was a marine mechanic and the first deployment was to the home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii where he served his entire four years of active duty. During that time there were two tours of duty in Viet Nam, returning to the home port of Pearl Harbor. Wes was honorably discharged in 1967, receiving the National Defense Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Vietnam).

While in Pearl Harbor, on a blind date, Wes met Sandra VanWagenen and eleven months later were married on January 14, 1967.

He was a talented man who worked in challenging careers, such as manufacturing in Marshalltown, Iowa, oil field work in Utah, heavy equipment operator in Rock Springs, Wyoming, uranium mining at Bear Creek in Douglas, Wyoming and completing his final assignment in coal mining at the Rawhide Mine near Gillette, Wyoming.

During his time off, he was always trying to find the perfect place to take pictures. Having been a photographer, with pictures pushed in National Geographic Magazine, Wyoming Wildlife Magazine and several other venues, his work may still be seen in in post cards, when travelling across South Dakota. Other times, he was in search of the perfect bass fishing pond or the perfect guitar to play. This was Wes!

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Sandra, "Sandy", Rapid City, his daughter and son in law, Melita and Craig Rhyan of Oaks, ND, his granddaughter and husband, Sarah and Justin Larsen, Valley City, ND with great granddaughter, Elodie of Valley City, ND and grand daughter, Stephanie Rhyan and fiancé, Kyle Mattson, Fargo. Other family members include his sisters and brothers in law, Denise and Larry Mills, Lakeview, IA and Peggy and Ted Grote, Gibson City, IL and his brother, Jeff Carroll of Lakeview, IA. Many nephews and nieces also survive Wes.

Per his request, cremation has taken place with no services scheduled at this time. A family gathering is to take place at a later date. His family would like to extend their thanks for the kindness and compassionate care that was given to Wes during his treatment at the Cancer Care Institute and his care at Rapid City Regional Hospital prior to his transfer to Billings, Montana. Your kindness will always be remembered.

Friends may sign his online guest register at www.osheimschmidt.com.wscarroll@midco.net.