Christopher Carroll was born March 1, 1944, in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. He was raised in a carefree era, before cell phones, e-mail and fax machines, a “luxury” Christopher maintained for most of his life.
His family traveled extensively throughout Europe during his childhood in the 1950s, thereby instilling in him a lifelong love of adventure and travel.
In 1965, when Europe was still recovering from World War II, Christopher left England for America. Having completed his undergraduate degree from London University, he took an enormous leap of faith and arrived in New York on the Queen Mary, where he boarded a Greyhound bus to Los Angeles with $100 in his pocket.
With pluck and perseverance, the 21-year-old Englishman joined an investment firm, selling financial instruments. Two years later, he put himself through USC, earning a master’s degree in finance, and then moved into a coveted position with a major New York investment bank.
While living in New York, Christopher experienced his first opera, La Bohéme, at the Metropolitan Opera. He was instantly hooked, returning the same week to see Tosca and Madama Butterfly. Thus was born his love of music and dance, which had a tremendous impact on him and became a centerpiece of his activities later in his life.
Christopher moved to Santa Barbara in 1975, and in 1977 he married Louisa Angeli. Christopher and Louisa were married for 20 years, and during that time they built a beautiful home in Montecito. Christopher was very involved in the construction of the home, performing much of the carpentry work himself and designing many of the architectural elements.
During this time, he also established Carroll Capital Management Corp., specializing in money management, venture capital and real estate investment.
An avid athlete and passionate cricket player, Christopher is a past president of the historic Hollywood Cricket Club. He traveled the world playing for the Los Angeles Rugby Club. Later in life he became a dedicated swimmer, and could be seen year-round on his daily swims with his dogs in the waters off Butterfly Beach. He was uniquely devoted to his dogs, and is survived by his beloved Buoso, who is in the safe care of a new family (who has Buoso’s brother).
Christopher dedicated a formidable amount of his time to the local arts community. At the time of his death, he was an active member of the board of directors of Opera Santa Barbara and the State Street Ballet. He was also a former board member of the Montecito YMCA, past president and current member of the Rotary Club of Montecito, a council member at the Music Academy of the West, and a parishioner of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Christopher is survived by his two sisters, Jennifer, who lives in England, and Neen, who lives in Spain; five nephews, Phillip, Matthew, Nicholas, Christopher and Gregory; two nieces, Suzanne and Claire; and their many children.
Christopher’s legacy will live on in Santa Barbara because of his generous commitment to many organizations and causes in the community. We owe a debt of gratitude to Christopher for the remarkable light he brought to every life he touched.
Services will be at 1 p.m. March 11 at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 1300 East Valley Road.