Roll Call Tribute

Carol Stoner Vance, Jr.
July 26, 1933 - June 24, 2022

Carol Stoner Vance, Jr., 88, passed away at home on June 24, 2022, after a fulfilling and remarkable life of service. He was surrounded in love by his family.

Carol was born in Beaumont, Texas, the son of Fanelle Philp and Carol Vance, Sr. His mother was a teacher; his father, a Methodist minister, died when Carol was two years old. His early years in Beaumont, where he was embraced by a large and loving family, had a profound impact on his life. His faith was established there and was his guiding light to the end. He both lived and taught a life of faith in Christ.

Having moved to Houston after his father’s death, Carol attended Roberts Elementary, Lanier Jr. High, and he graduated from Lamar High School. He attended Texas A&M his freshman year, then transferred to The University of Texas where he received a B.B.A. and his law degree. At UT, Carol was president of his fraternity, Phi Kappa Sigma. He was on The University of Texas Rifle Team where his sharp-shooting earned him first place in the Southwest Conference. While in law school he married Carolyn Kongabel, who was the love of his life. Carol received his commission as a 2nd Lt. in the U.S. Army. His service continued into the Reserves for 10 years, where he became a Captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps.

Carol became an Assistant District Attorney for Harris County in 1958, and was later appointed District Attorney at the tender age of 32 by then-Governor John Connally. He was elected to another four terms and never faced an opponent on the ballot. As DA, he started new programs and divisions within the office, and personally prosecuted some twenty jury cases of historical significance in Houston. During his tenure, Carol was chosen the Outstanding Young Man of Houston by the Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce, selected the Outstanding Young Lawyer in Texas by the Texas Young Lawyers Association, and selected Outstanding District Attorney in the U.S. by the National District Attorneys Association. Carol had a passion to improve the system of criminal justice and worked to develop and pass many new laws in the Texas Legislature, including the Texas Penal Code of 1974, which is still in effect today.

In 1979, Carol left the District Attorney’s office to become a partner with the law firm of Bracewell and Patterson, now Bracewell. He was a respected civil trial lawyer and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served on numerous boards over the years including MEPC, then the largest British property company, Park Plaza Hospital, The Boy Scouts of America - Greater Houston Area, The Gathering of Men, Shad Williams Evangelical Association, The Forge for Families, Houston Area Young Life, and many others. He was also one of the founders and a President of the Houston Forum Club.

From 1992 to 1995, Carol served as Chairman of the Board of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which oversees the Texas Prison System. He remained on that Board through 1999. One of his greatest contributions as Chairman was setting policies to promote volunteerism and bring ministries into Texas prisons. He, along with Chuck Colson and then-Governor George Bush, started the first Christian-based program in a U.S. prison. The prison, in Richmond, Texas, was renamed the Carol S. Vance Unit in 1997. This Texas success story led Prison Fellowship to open similar programs in other states. Carol then began preaching regularly in the Harris County Jail and taught weekly CBS Bible Study at the Jester III Unit in Richmond. He also taught the Basics of the Christian Faith course at the Vance Unit, which he continued to do for the rest of his life. As his wife, Carolyn, says about his ministry, “His church is the prison, and the prisoners are his congregation!” Carol loved and mentored each one of them.

Carol was a member and elder of First Presbyterian Church of Houston. He was Chairman of the Church Planting Committee of Christ Evangelical Presbyterian Church. He and Carolyn, along with others, founded the City of Refuge Presbyterian Church in Houston’s historic 3rd Ward, with a primary focus of reaching out to the last, the least, and the lost. Carol loved to share the gospel and accompanied his friend Shad Williams to do field evangelism in Malawi and Kenya as well as taking mission trips to Brazil, Argentina, Turkey, and Ecuador.

Carol is a published author, having written three books. "After the Leap" is a book on the basics of Christian faith, which he used in his prison ministry. "Boomtown D.A." recounts some of his adventures in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, including brushes with the Mafia, grisly murder cases, and the prosecution of a Texas Supreme Court Justice. "My Grandfather’s House" is about his happy young years with his family in Beaumont. It includes the story where young Carol kept watch for enemy submarines off Bolivar Peninsula, another where he spent time at the family lease in the world-famous Spindletop oilfield with his grandfather and uncles, and another where he worked in his uncle’s drugstore as a cashier at age four when his uncle was called to serve in World War II.

Well-loved by his large family, Carol adored beyond measure Carolyn and his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. He enjoyed teaching his kids and grandkids any and every sport. Carol was an avid and winning tennis player and a longtime member of the Houston Country Club. His favorite pastime was having the family over to the house to play tennis after he grilled lunch on the patio. For over 50 years, he and the family enjoyed their mountain retreat in New Mexico, with unending golf and tennis lessons for his children and grandchildren. A schedule of tennis in the morning, golf in the afternoon, and sunsets in the evening kept Carol fit and happy.

This man of many talents was greatly blessed by his family, his many friends, his work in public service, and by taking a little of the love of Christ to missions and into the prisons. His love, his kindness, his wisdom, his family sermons, and the occasional lecture will be greatly missed.

Carol is survived by his wife of 68 years, Carolyn Kongabel Vance, his children Lynn Goodson, Carroll Vance, Karen Geoca and husband Ted, Harold Vance and wife Mimi, and Cheryl Tucker and husband Brian. He is also survived by his 14 grandchildren: Carrie Monzon (Max), Camille Davenport (Jacob), Carly Sagehorn (Jack), Carroll and Thomas Vance, Nicholas, Peter and Christian Geoca, Ellis and Molly Vance, Andrew Tucker (Anna), Sarah Gustafson (Andrew), Carolyn Alexander (Jairus), and Ben Tucker (Ali), and six great-grandchildren: Michael and Margaret Monzon, Piper and Lawson Davenport, and William and Caroline Tucker.

The family wishes to thank Carol’s devoted and loving caregivers: Jermaine Doleman, Priscilla Brown, and Lita Smith. The family also wishes to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff at Methodist Hospital Katy and Methodist Continuing Care Hospital - LTACH unit for their excellent care, along with Family Tree In-Home Care.

There will be a Memorial Service on June 30, 2022, at 12:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church Houston, 5300 Main Street, Houston, Texas. A reception will follow immediately afterwards. Carol Vance will be interred in a private ceremony at Glenwood Cemetery in Houston.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in his name be directed to The Forge for Families, 3435 Dixie Drive, Houston, TX 77021, attention IMO Carol Vance. www.forgeforfamilies.org;  or to Prison Fellowship Ministries, 44180 Riverside Parkway, Lansdowne, VA 20176, attention Carol Vance Unit. www.prisonfellowship.org