Russell Carollo

Russell Carollo, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, died in Switzerland on December 19, 2018, at the age of 63. Russell grew up in Lacombe and earned a journalism degree from LSU and a history degree from Southeastern University. Beginning his career with The Daily Times in Slidell, he worked as a reporter for the Texarkana Gazette, the Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, and the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, before settling in at the Dayton Daily News in Ohio. As a long-term projects reporter for the Daily News, Russell won a bevy of prestigious awards, including not only the Pulitzer--for which he was a finalist four times--but also Harvard University's Goldsmith Award, two White House Correspondents' Association awards, and six Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards. Three of these awards were presented to him by U.S. presidents. While investigating subjects such as the illicit recruitment of foreign athletes to American schools and the dangerous conditions under which Peace Corps volunteers are compelled to operate, Russell traveled to approximately twenty countries, and his later career included stops at the Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times. Among his colleagues, Russell is famous for the enormous volume of Freedom of Information Act requests he filed, for uncovering crucial details in these records no one else could, and for the painstaking accuracy of his reporting. He also taught journalism briefly at Colorado College and Oklahoma State University. He is survived by his mother, Norma; his siblings, Vickie (Paul), Laura (Glen), and Frankie (Susie); his daughter, Tonya; his son, Brett; and four grandchildren, Braden, Rosemary, A.J., and Grace. He is preceded in death by his father, Victor. A private service was held in Lacombe.