In December of 1971, Carroll E. Wilborn, Jr. walked into the law office of his cousin, Guy C. Jackson III, to talk with him about a plot at the Jackson Cemetery for his stepfather Roy Dawson, who had just passed away. I was working for the Jackson and Jackson Law office while I was attending Lee College. This would be the first time either of us had seen the other. Having just graduated from Law School and passing the bar, Carroll soon made plans to practice law in Anahuac and to be here to help his mother with the family ranch, so it would not be the last time our paths would cross.
Over the course of the next seven months Carroll would repeatedly stop by the office and he was always teasing me. There might have been a “slight” age difference between us so his comments all ended with “I would ask you out on a date, but you are so young we would have to have a chaperone.” One day Linda Jackson piped up that she was tired of hearing his excuses and she would gladly chaperone. Our first date on July 10, 1972, started with Linda being our chaperone. We had several more dates in July and August and that is when we discovered that we both had an approaching birthday. When he asked when my birthday was, I told him it was the 28th of August. He thought I was kidding because that was his birthday as well. I then explained that I was born in San Antonio at Santa Rosa Hospital. The uncanny thing was that he was also born there. His father Carroll Wilborn, Sr., was hospitalized there suffering the final stages in his battle with MS and so that was where his mother, Berta Mary, gave birth to Carroll. Learning these details just seemed to draw us even closer together.
However, I had planned to transfer to Stephen F. Austin University and left for Nacogdoches, Texas right after our birthday celebration. Little did I know that I would celebrate the next 43 birthdays with him. After long distance dating for the next few months, Carroll said that if our relationship was going to go any further, I needed to come home. That was all it took, and I transferred to Lamar University the following semester and moved to Beaumont.
Carroll’s career was just taking off. He was hired as the Assistant County Attorney for Chambers County and then the Assistant District Attorney for Liberty and Chambers Counties. I was a busy college student, but we continued to date, and our love continued to grow. Christmas 1974 he proposed, and we were married on August 2, 1975. I graduated from college and he became the District Attorney.
Our daughter, Stephanie Delane was born in March 1978. I was a contented stay at home mom, and he was an extremely busy District Attorney. While I was pregnant with our son Grant Jackson, Carroll was involved in one of his biggest cases concerning the death of Price Daniel, Jr. Our lives were topsy turvy and he spent most of his time in Liberty. Grant was born in June 1981 and Carroll was embroiled in the trial. Reporters were constantly calling at all hours disrupting our lives. This was one of the turning points in our lives when the decision was made to step back from public life. We tried not to expose ourselves or our family to the scrutiny of others. Carroll always felt in doing this no one would question the decisions he made as the District Attorney and then as the District Judge he became in 1983. Carroll always said that his mother taught him that being fair above all else was the key to being honorable in his profession and life. His fairness on the bench was recognized and admired by many in his professional and personal life.
We had a wonderful marriage that we worked at together. Over our many years, we raised our kids, helped run the family ranch, battled the serious illness of our son, lived through the day-to-day grind that we all face, and we succeeded. Most importantly, we watched our kids become amazing adults and find their true loves, just like us, to continue the love story for the next generation. Tragically, I lost Carroll, the love of my life, unexpectedly three weeks before our 40th wedding anniversary. Whenever Carroll performed a marriage ceremony the following excerpt was always included:
“There is a wonderful passage from First Corinthians Chapter 13, recited at most weddings that says let love be your aim; for love is very patient, it is kind, it is never jealous or envious, it is never boastful or proud, it is never selfish or rude, love does not demand its own way. This passage goes on to say that if you love someone you will be loyal to him or her no matter what the price, you will always believe in them, always expect the best of them and always defend them. Nothing is easier than saying these words. Nothing is harder than living them, day after day. What you promise today must be renewed and rededicated tomorrow and each day that stretches out before you.”
This message was a part of the wedding ceremonies of both our children as Carroll and I believed that this is what made our marriage successful and what sustains me. I know that it will sustain them as well and help this love story continue for the next generation and generations to come.