Robert Eugene Carroll

Bishop Robert “Pastor Bob” E. Carroll, age 81 of Hixson, passed away at his home in Hixson on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. He was born in Chattanooga on June 30, 1944, the son of the late Raymond Eugene Carroll and Gladys Elizabeth (Young) Carroll. He was also preceded in death by his first wife in December of 2013, Brenda “Devonnia” Hayes Carroll; his two brothers, Jimmy Carroll and Jim Walker, Sr., and his sister, Judy Tingle.

Pastor Bob's life was a testament to God's calling and his faithful response to serve others. A graduate of Lakeview High School where he played football, he began his working life as an auto mechanic and drag racing enthusiast before establishing his own sewing machine repair business and later working as a crane operator at Combustion. In 1967, he answered God's call to evangelism, serving as a field representative for the General Overseer and dedicating himself to theological education at Bryan College, Lee University, and Dallas Theological Seminary, where he earned his doctorate of Divinity. His pastoral ministry spanned decades and multiple states, shepherding congregations in Dickson County, Tennessee; Winchester, Tennessee; Alvin, Texas; Kilgore, Texas; St. Louis, Missouri and finally Dayton, where he retired in 2016 from the Dayton Church of God of Prophesy. He was ordained as a bishop in 1994. Pastor Bob enriched the faith of countless believers through his multiple guide trips to the Holy Land and remained an active member of Chattanooga Community Church of God. His journey from the football field to the pulpit reflected a life transformed by faith and dedicated to transforming others through the Gospel.

Pastor Bob is survived by wife, Carolyn (Cornett) Carroll of Hixson; his three children, David (Deborah) Carroll of Dayton, DeDra Carroll of Etowah and Annika (Coy) Goins of Sale Creek Mountain; his eight grandchildren, Christian (Morgan) Wilson, Braden Wilson, Adison Wilson, Kayla Carroll, Gavin Carroll, Robert Touchstone, Leah Goins and Logan Goins; his three great-grandchildren, Madilyn Wilson, Lilabee Touchstone and Ben Welch; and his three sisters, Joan (Larry) Carroll of Hixson and Wanda (Winsel) Morris, both of Hixson, and Kathy (Greg) Rogers of Dayton.

Funeral services for Pastor Bob will be held on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 12:00 noon in the funeral home chapel with Pastor Matt Johnson and Pastor Londa Richardson officiating. He will be laid to rest at Rhea Memory Gardens next to his first wife followed by a white dove release.

Please share your memories and photos of Pastor Bob on his online guest register at www.vanderwallfh.com.

The family is being cared for by Vanderwall Funeral Home in Dayton, Tennessee, where they will receive friends on Friday, August 15, 2025, between 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and on Saturday, August 16, 2025, from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service.