Carol Ann Speed Mifsud was born on December 24, 1932, in Sayre, Oklahoma, to Martha and Oscar Speed. She was the youngest of five children, and because her father served in the US Army, Carol’s family would move to both California and Arizona before resettling back in Oklahoma prior to her high school years. After graduating valedictorian of her rural high school class, Carol spent her time at the University of Texas at Austin before meeting her future husband, Joseph Mifsud, whom she met through her oldest sister, Estelle. Married at age nineteen, she would, over the next thirteen years, become the busy mother of six children, four boys, and two girls. The Mifsud family settled in Houston, Texas in 1965, and Carol lived in the home she raised her children in almost continuously until her death on July 22, 2020.
In 1987, Carol opened a pet grooming and boarding business with a friend, calling it Carlisle’s Groom and Board. She would become the sole owner of the very successful business after the first year. It was here that ‘doggie daycare’ was first introduced to Houston, and ten years later, the Houston Chronicle published a feature article on Carol and her business and the new idea that dogs could enjoy group playtime.
Over the many years of her active adult life, Carol supported local theater and opera, large and small, as a volunteer in many roles, including as a skilled seamstress for costumes and sets…as well as a financial supporter and avid audience member. Gathering friends and acquaintances everywhere she went, her enthusiasm to promote her interests brought many people to the magic of theater and opera productions. Carol also enjoyed travel, adventure, was always curious to learn and had an instinct for the new and unconventional. She was committed to her children and to her extended family throughout her life and modeled generosity of both the material and the spirit.
Survived by Oscar Speed of Tucson, Arizona, Thomas Mifsud of Guatemala City, Guat., George Mifsud of Katy, Tx, Sarah Mifsud of Houston, Tx, Mark Mifsud of Austin, Tx and Jane Mifsud of Cedar Park, Tx…Preceded in death by Joseph Mifsud, John Mifsud, Sam Speed, Estelle Lane, and Patricia Lane. Carol was also the proud grandmother of ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. She will be missed every day by the family and friends who knew and loved her. God bless our talented and beautiful mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sweet friend. She has already blessed all of us with her heart of gold.
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Carol Ann Mifsud, please visit our floral store.