CARROLL, Peter J. The definition of a Renaissance man is one who is clever, knowledgeable, educated and proficient in a wide range of fields with a broad array of interests. Peter Carroll embodied all of those traits. He was a visionary, impresario, showman, innovator, businessman, developer, promoter, producer, blue water sailor, competitive auto racer and a Renaissance man who ironically produced Renaissance festivals. Carroll passed away on January 29th in Indian Hill, Ohio, after a battle with pneumonia. Carroll was born in New York City in 1927 the son of Constance O'Brien and Peter James Carroll. After graduating high school he served in WW II with the U.S. Army's 85th Infantry and participated in the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. Following the war he graduated from the U.S. Army Strategic Intelligence School; The Wharton School of Finance and the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute. Carroll started his career with the Philadelphia Board of Trade as the manager of the Philadelphia Convention/Trade Show facility. In 1958 he became Trade Show Manager for Reber-Friel Show Management where he produced among other shows, the National Houseware Manufacturers Association Show, at the time the nation's largest trade show. In 1959 Carroll founded his own exposition business and started the world's first Imported and Compact Car Show which was sponsored by the Philadelphia Inquirer and held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. From 1960 to 1985 he produced dozens of annual consumer shows throughout the country including sports shows, ski shows, home shows, auto shows and several annual trade shows. In 1978 he founded Computer Expositions Inc. which became the largest producer of end-user computer shows in the country. In 1980 Carroll produced The Toughest Guy & Gal Fights in Washington D.C. which was a forerunner to today's popular Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC). In 1970 Carroll invented the In-The-Water Boat Show and founded the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis Maryland. That show revolutionized the marketing and merchandising of pleasure boats and marine products and in its forty sixth year is still one of the world's premiere boat shows. Carroll went on to produce In-Water Sail and Power Boat Shows in Houston, Stamford, and Ft Lauderdale. In 1970 Carroll also founded Mid-Atlantic Realty which developed the city's first high rise luxury condominium, town houses, a shopping mall, the Naval Historical Wax Museum and the Chesapeake Bay Yachting Center, the largest marina on Chesapeake Bay. A prolific showman and true life Renaissance man his long list of successful productions coincidentally includes three of this country's largest annual Renaissance festivals. Between 1986 and 1990 he founded the Ohio Renaissance Festival and co-founded the Georgia and Florida Renaissance Festivals. All three are still operating. Next to the Ohio Festival Carroll developed Caesar's Creek Lake Estates, a community that will eventually contain 1200 homes. As of 2014 he had sold all the festivals and real estate and retired to his home in Indian Hill OH. Carroll enjoyed life as an avid sailor and member of the Annapolis Yacht Club since 1968. Peter was deft at sailing multiple classes of boats as well as crewing in Blue Water events. He enjoyed cruising aboard his Morgan Out Island '51 and was also an auto racing enthusiast. He leaves his wife of 12 years Lauri and 3 sons from a previous marriage. Philip and his wife Kathryn and their 4 children of Miami, Brian and his wife Ghislane of Philadelphia and Terence also of Philadelphia. He also leaves Lauri's 3 children from a previous marriage. In accordance with his wishes Peter will have one last ocean voyage. He will be cremated and at a private family service at sea off Florida his ashes and those of his mother Constance, will be scattered together into the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic ocean to be carried by the current to Ireland, their ancestral home.