Joseph "Michael" Carroll

Joseph "Michael" Carroll, of Austin, Texas, passed away on April 23, 2023 at the age of 40, after a long, hard-fought 12+ year battle with brain cancer. Michael was born on July 23, 1982, to Joe and Nancy Carroll in Norfolk, Virginia. Michael was joined by his younger brother Justin in 1985 to complete their cherished nuclear family of four. In 1990, the Carroll's moved to Plano, Texas, where Michael attended Plano schools and graduated from Plano Senior High School in 2000. Having long been an avid fan of the Texas Longhorns, Michael was thrilled to be able to attend the University of Texas at Austin (UT) for college. He loved every minute of his undergraduate experience at UT, including UT football and pledging Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. In addition, Michael had the honor of a lifetime of being selected to serve as a UT Silver Spur from 2002-2004. It was through these various UT experiences that Michael developed and nourished an amazing group of devoted, lifelong brothers and friends.
At UT, Michael studied Government, Business, Spanish, and Japanese. In addition to his Spanish fluency, he also spent a summer abroad in Japan refining his Japanese language skills. Upon graduation from UT, Michael joined his family's healthcare consulting business, Advantage Administration, Inc. After three years spent as a consultant at the company, Michael progressed through several increasingly demanding administrative positions to become Chief Operating Officer of the company. Under Michael's direction and leadership of corporate affairs, Advantage Administration experienced five consecutive years of compounding double digit growth.
To broaden his business acumen while continuing to work at Advantage Administration, Michael enrolled in the Executive MBA program at the McCombs School of Business at UT in the fall of 2011. It was during this time that he was first diagnosed with brain cancer. He successfully endured two surgeries, radiation, and chemo to go into remission for more than ten years. Never one to shun an opportunity, Michael used this time to expand his business ambitions. In 2013, Michael became one of the co-founders of Agnite Health LLC. As the CEO of Agnite, Michael developed the company to focus on quality and personalized service so it could grow into one of the most sought-after ophthalmic medical billing companies in the US. Today, Agnite operates in eleven states and continues to expand rapidly, due in large part to Michael's leadership and business savvy.
To the casual observer, Michael was a beautiful person, but to the many individuals who he counted among his family and friends, he was much more than that; he was a beautiful person inside and out. His smile, grin and contagious laugh were a daily constant while graciously "fighting for his life with a big side of stubborness." His compassionate heart was equally intense. Always the consummate gentleman, Michael cared deeply and genuinely about his family, friends, and all the people in his orbit. Generous and selfless to a fault, Michael fretted more consistently about the medical and financial health of everyone else above his own, and despite the years of cancer treatment that Michael had to endure, he never complained about the unfairness of his own circumstances. Rather, he met the challenge with courage and a determination to "fight on bravely" until the very end. The most significant regret of Michael's too-short life was that he did not have the opportunity to have children of his own. But the joy of his life for the past seven years has been loving on and spoiling his nieces and nephew with unconditional love and attention. He often spoke of his brother Justin's and sister-in-law Codi's children (James, Lane, and Chaney) as if they were his own, and he will forever be remembered by those children as an adoring, fun-loving uncle ("Funcle Michael," as they aptly named him).
To know Michael was to love Michael. Life will not be the same without him. His family and friend base were widespread and truly cherished by Michael. He spent his last years with his beloved girlfriend, Lauren Suarez, who added much joy to his life.
Michael is survived by his parents Nancy Resch Carroll and Joseph F. Carroll, III, by his brother Justin Christopher Carroll and his wife Codi Dueitt Carroll and their children, James Carter Carroll, Lane Renee Carroll, and Chaney Frances Carroll, by his dog Finley, as well as by his maternal grandmother and many aunts, uncles, and cousins whom he loved dearly. He also leaves behind a very special group of close and very dear friends who supported him throughout his 12+ year battle with brain cancer. They never left his side in emotional support and encouragement, displaying a deep camaraderie for which his family will remain forever grateful.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 13, 2023 in Dallas, Texas.
In partnership with friends and family, Michael formed the J. Michael Carroll Brain Cancer Foundation to raise funds to support brain cancer research that will have the greatest impact on the brain tumor/brain cancer community. Funds raised will also be directed towards brain tumor patients struggling financially to pay for the horrendous cost of brain cancer treatments and medications. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to direct any charitable donations to this foundation.