Carolyn Yost McConnell

September 23, 1934 — May 15, 2024

Benbrook

Carolyn Yost McConnell, 89, passed away peacefully in her sleep on May 15, 2024, due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Memorial Service: 11:00 a.m., Friday, June 28, 2024, at the First United Methodist Church, 800 West 5th Street, Fort Worth 76102. Burial will follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Decatur, Texas.
Carolyn was born Thelma Carolyn Yost on September 23, 1934, to Charles Dewitt and Thelma Pearl Yost in Fort Worth, Texas. She graduated from Polytechnic High School in Fort Worth in 1952 and enrolled at North Texas State College (now UNT) after graduation. She was named Outstanding Senior Student by the School of Business Administration and earned a BBA with High Honors in 1955. While completing her degree program, she married her high school sweetheart, Richard Craig McConnell on September 1, 1953 at the First United Methodist Church in Fort Worth, while he was serving as an Electrician’s Mate in the U.S. Navy.
Carolyn and Richard had three daughters (Cathy, Cinda, and Connie), and she was a full-time mother during their younger years. The family moved to Mineral Wells in 1971, and as the girls got older, Carolyn went to work part-time as a bookkeeper. In 1980, she was hired as the office manager and accountant at Butler-Parks Drilling Structures. Carolyn became an outstanding member of the management team, and with the support of the company’s CEO, she enrolled in the MBA program at Texas Christian University. To be able to attend classes, she was given a flexible work schedule, and Richard became the family’s “chief cook and bottle washer” (as he used to say). Richard found he had a passion for cooking as time went by, and Carolyn was delighted that he developed gourmet meals for family gatherings, which we all enjoyed.
Carolyn earned her CPA license in 1986 and became a professional member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants that same year, in addition to joining Beta Alpha Psi National Accounting Fraternity. She completed her Master of Business Administration in Accounting with a 4.00 GPA from Texas Christian University in 1987. (Carolyn’s educational success inspired her daughters in their own educational activities. Connie was earning her B.S. degree at UT Austin during the time that Carolyn was attending TCU and was motivated to “keep her nose to the grindstone” as her mother was earning straight A’s. Cinda found the encouragement she needed to pursue a master’s degree at TCU as a result of seeing Carolyn excel in graduate school even while being married and working full-time.) In the summer of 1987, Carolyn and Richard decided to move back to Fort Worth, so that she could go into private practice in their hometown after graduation. She landed several clients right away, including the local branch office of Coopers & Lybrand (one of the “Big Six” accounting firms in the U.S.), where she provided support for their tax preparation and consulting services. Then, in 1991, she accepted a Corporate Tax Accountant position with Laidlaw Transportation Management Inc., a holding company for subsidiaries that provided essential transportation services throughout the United States and Canada. Carolyn worked for Laidlaw until her retirement at the end of 2001.
Shortly after retiring, Carolyn dove into genealogical research on Richard’s family line, first via Ancestry.com and then later in coordination with Clan Donald USA, one of the oldest and most renowned genealogical societies in the Western world. Carolyn’s extensive research efforts led to the discovery of the immigrant ancestor for the McConnell family line – a crucial identification that had eluded Clan Donald scholars for over a century. Filling in this missing ancestral link enabled Carolyn to successfully trace the McConnell lineage to the ancient Scottish royal family of the Sons of Somerled, and then all the way back to Charlemagne. Because of Carolyn’s genealogical work, Richard was subsequently invited to participate in Clan Donald USA’s genetic marker project, which confirmed that he carried Somerled DNA.
One of Carolyn and Richard’s favorite pastimes was dancing. They became proficient at square- and round-dancing, taking classes at Swing Time Center and becoming members and officers of the Fort Worth Rainbow Rounds Club. They became good friends with the club members, and in 2003, many of them enthusiastically participated in Carolyn and Richard’s 50th wedding anniversary party at Swing Time Center by performing their dancing routines together. They later added clogging to their repertoire and joined the Dixie Style Cloggers Dance Club. In addition, Carolyn and Richard were both avid readers, and Carolyn carried a book with her wherever she went. Agatha Christie was her favorite author, and she loved the murder mystery genre. In fact, her favorite TV show was Angela Lansbury’s Murder She Wrote, about a female mystery writer who also solved real murder cases.
Carolyn and Richard also had a passion for the ocean, which included beach vacations at Padre Island and Port Aransas, and they even went on a Caribbean cruise in 1982 as an employee award for Carolyn being chosen as Employee of the Year at Butler-Parks Drilling Structures. Their passion extended to sailing and boating, and shortly after being hired at Laidlaw, Carolyn bought Richard a party pontoon boat housed at Lake Granbury, where they would spend the summertime taking their family out to swim, enjoy water activities, and eat the most delicious tuna fish salad sandwiches.
Carolyn and Richard considered their grandparenting years as the prime of their life, devoting much time and attention to their four grandchildren (Kelsey, Allison, Claire, and Eric). They attended all their school functions, from band concerts and football games to theater performances; and transported them to and from summer camps, doctor appointments, and dance lessons. They even took Claire and Eric along with them to their gym workouts at Benbrook YMCA during the summers so they could swim in the Olympic-size pool, teach them how to use the cardio equipment, and walk together along the indoor track.
Carolyn was beloved and appreciated by everyone who knew her – family members, friends, and colleagues all felt greatly blessed by having her in their lives. Loving-kindness was her “super-power," and she always had a smile on her face and a hug for those who needed a little sweetness in their lives. She was preceded in death by her amazing and devoted husband of 68 years, Richard; her oldest daughter, Cathy Lynn McConnell; her brother, Charles Dewitt Yost, Jr.; her sister-in-law, Betty Lusk; and her parents, Charles Dewitt, and Thelma Pearl Yost.
Carolyn is survived by her daughters, Cinda Laine Cheney, and Connie Lee Townsend; grandchildren Eric Cheney, Claire Buie, Allison Dorgant, and Kelsey Shipman; great-grandchild, Juniper Lily Robinson; sister-in-law, Donna Yost; nephews, Jay, John, and Jim Yost; and niece, Melinda Coalson.
In memory and support, we would welcome, in lieu of flowers, donations by friends and family to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund at https://curealz.org/giving/donate/. 100% of donations made to the charity go towards research.

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Memorial Service

Friday, June 28, 2024

Starts at 11:00 am (Central time)

First United Methodist Church

800 West 5th Street, Fort Worth, 76102

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