Posted on 02/02/2018
Carroll W. Anstaett, of 4 Skyview Drive, Olean, passed away peacefully Wednesday (Jan. 31, 2018) at Olean General Hospital.
Born Oct. 12, 1925, in Batavia, Ohio, he was one of two sons of Stanley and Gertrude Windspear. On June 16, 1948, in Lancaster, he married Anne Stutzman, who passed away Sept. 11, 1974. Together, they had two children, Wendy (Tom) Schlegel of Bluffton, S.C. and Gary (Julie) Anstaett of Tavares, Fla. On Aug. 8, 1981, he married Dolores Neary Nunamaker, who survives.
At age 16, Carroll was ruled ineligible for a fifth year of Batavia High School athletics, so he quickly enrolled at Miami University of Ohio, where he was one of the first freshmen to participate in varsity sports. He was a catcher on Miami's baseball team for two years before entering the Army. Later, he played for the United States Naval Academy, but resigned to play baseball; first, with Glenn L. Martin Bombers (World Amateur Champions) in Baltimore, Md., before enrolling in Syracuse University with a full scholarship. He played for two years and was selected as captain and Most Valuable Player.
After graduation, he played for several teams in the Boston (Milwaukee) Braves system. An injury forced Carroll to leave professional baseball and return to Ohio. However, a team manager in Olean wanted Carroll to play for him, even though he knew about the severe eye injury. Carroll played two years with the Olean Oilers, working as news director at WHDL Radio in the offseason.
Carroll was president of the Olean Oilers from 1955 to 1957 and was especially proud of watching Paul Owens of Salamanca eventually become General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, after being hired in 1955 as the Olean Oilers' playing manager.
In 1952, he entered the investment business with Bonbright & Co., which later became Smith Barney, from which he retired in 2008 after 56 years.
Active in the community, he helped establish the Olean Little League and was a manager of a Little League team as well as a Babe Ruth team for many years, and has continued to financially support Little League through the years, including establishing an endowment for Olean Little League. One of his proudest accomplishments was helping to secure the large Forness Park area, which is the home to many ballfields for all age groups.
In 1957, Carroll was selected by the Olean Jaycees as their first Outstanding Young Man. He was president of the Olean Chamber of Commerce, the Olean Area Campfire Girls and the Olean YMCA. He also was the director of the National and New York State YMCA Councils, and was honored by the YMCA "Salute to Olean." In addition, he received the Chamber of Commerce LOUIE Award in 2001.
Carroll was president of the New York Miss America Pageant for eight years, and was especially proud when Miss New York (Tawny Goldin) became Miss America in 1976. He was also elected a board director of the National Pageant State Representatives. He was a judge at over 40 Miss America Pageants, including state pageants in Ohio, Kentucky, Washington State and West Virginia. He also judged at the National Miss Rodeo America Contest in Oklahoma City for two years.
Carroll was fortunate to be able to play golf with over 80 tour professionals at pro-am tournaments such as the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic for eight years, nine years at the Vegas Invitational, the Frank Sinatra Celebrity-Am and various LPGA and Senior PGA circuit events, enjoying partnering with golf legends like Phil Michelson, Jim Furyk, Lee Trevino, Payne Stewart, etc. The last year he played with the pros was at age 81, where he had a hole-in-one at the Vegas Invitational.
Because of his love for Olean, Carroll established a number of sizable permanent endowments in the community. These include Olean General Hospital, Olean YMCA, Genesis House, JCC Foundation, Olean Community Theatre, Pfeiffer Nature Center, Gift Tree, Community Care of Western NY, in addition to Olean Little League, Syracuse University Athletes, Miami University of Ohio, two endowments honoring his father's 50 years as school principal and high school baseball coach at Amelia, Ohio, plus a scholarship program for graduates of his high school at Batavia, Ohio.
In addition to his wife and two children, he is survived by five step-children, Thomas Graves of Olean, Anne (David) Bastine of Wayland, Barbara Brooks of Long Beach, Calif., Stephen (Connie) Graves of Las Vegas, Nev., and Patricia (Carl Utris) Graves of Port St. Lucie, Fla.; one sister, Dolores (Thomas) Stephens of Tucson, Ariz.; and several nieces and nephews.
In addition to his first wife, he was predeceased by a brother, Dale (Eleanor) Anstaett in 2004. At Carroll's request there will be no visitation or funeral service. He considered his many permanent charitable endowments to be his community legacy. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
Memorials if desired may be made to the Carroll Anstaett Olean Little League Fund at the Olean Community Foundation, 301 N. Union St., Suite 203, Olean, N.Y. 14760; Olean General Hospital, 515 Main St., Olean; or the Olean YMCA, 1101 Wayne St., Olean.
Published in The Olean Times Herald on Feb. 2, 2018