Obituary for James E. Carroll Jr.
James Edward Carroll, Jr., beloved husband of Kathleen Collins of Glastonbury and father of James E. Carroll, III of West Hartford, passed away on Friday, December 21, 2018 from the effects of a recent stroke. Jim had health and mobility issues for the last several years.
Jim was born on September 8, 1931 in Hartford, son of Dr. James Carroll and Marion Hartnett Carroll. He grew up in West Hartford, attending the Morley School, Loomis Chaffee, and Trinity College, where he majored in economics. A trip to Cuba with a school friend, however, changed the course of Jim’s life: he fell in love with Spanish culture and with the Spanish language. Jim enrolled for his Master’s Degree in Spanish at Middlebury College, which involved two years of study at the University of Madrid in Spain, He did further doctoral work at NYU.
Jim applied his love of Spanish to many years of teaching in Long Island and Queens, N.Y., and in Danbury and Hartford, CT. His last years were spent at Hartford Public, Weaver, and Bulkeley high schools in Hartford. Jim was known for his unconventional use of humor and pranks in teaching. His style earned him the criticism of administrators but the enviable praise of past students, who, even in Jim’s retirement, praised him for keeping them going to school and helping them secure good jobs with their proficiency in Spanish.
Jim’s humanitarian work also reflected his love of Spanish culture. He traveled five times to Central America, especially to Nicaraqua, with the Ocotal/Hartford Sister City group and Pastors for Peace, which one time involved driving a trailer truck to collect health supplies from New York, down the Southern coast, through Mexico, and then into Central America.
The same zest for life can be seen in Jim’s involvement in community action and in politics both in Hartford and in Glastonbury, where he was a member of the Glastonbury Town Committee. Jim was equally avid about sports, playing semi pro baseball and soccer in his youth and spending as much time as possible on the golf links, especially with his Keney Park and Goodwin Park buddies, in later years. Jim’s one regret in life was that his father would not allow him to skip his schooling to accept being drafted by Connie Mack of the former Philadelphia Athletics. To everyone’s puzzlement Jim was one of the few diehard Detroit Tigers fans in New England.
When Jim’s health grounded him, he took up learning to play the ukulele and joining the Glastonbury Ukulele Band under the direction of Dr. Jim Rosakoff. Although Jim told people to come hear “his band”, the experience allowed him to play all over the area and to meet so many new friends.
Jim lived a good life, He was a good man.
Jim is survived by his wife Kathleen Collins; his son Jim Carroll and wife Maureen, their sons Connor and Riley; his stepchildren Michael Collins, wife Nancy, and daughter Micaela; Maura O’Donnell and sons Liam and Colin; Dr. Mark Collins, wife Louisa Grauel, and their twins Clarisse and Malcolm; and his sister-in-law Jane Carroll of Spofford, NH. Jim also leaves his four-legged pal Max. Jim was predeceased by his parents, his brother Paul Carroll, and his son-in-law Thomas O’Donnell.
Friends may call on the family on Thursday, December 27, at the Farley-Sullivan Funeral Home, 50 Naubuc Avenue, Glastonbury, between the hours of 3p.m. and 6 p.m. Funeral services will be on Friday, December 28, proceeding from the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. to a mass of Christian burial at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 53 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. Burial will be private and at a later time. Messages and words of condolence may be put on line at www.farleysullivan.com.
The family would like to thank the staff at Hartford Hospital, especially the Bliss 10 ICU and the Neurology 9 Stepdown, for their superb care; health aides Emanuel Sam, Aileen Smith, Caridad Martinez, and Richard Sarpong, who went the extra mile for Jim; and friends and neighbors at Meadow Hill, who gave much help and understanding.
Jim was born on September 8, 1931 in Hartford, son of Dr. James Carroll and Marion Hartnett Carroll. He grew up in West Hartford, attending the Morley School, Loomis Chaffee, and Trinity College, where he majored in economics. A trip to Cuba with a school friend, however, changed the course of Jim’s life: he fell in love with Spanish culture and with the Spanish language. Jim enrolled for his Master’s Degree in Spanish at Middlebury College, which involved two years of study at the University of Madrid in Spain, He did further doctoral work at NYU.
Jim applied his love of Spanish to many years of teaching in Long Island and Queens, N.Y., and in Danbury and Hartford, CT. His last years were spent at Hartford Public, Weaver, and Bulkeley high schools in Hartford. Jim was known for his unconventional use of humor and pranks in teaching. His style earned him the criticism of administrators but the enviable praise of past students, who, even in Jim’s retirement, praised him for keeping them going to school and helping them secure good jobs with their proficiency in Spanish.
Jim’s humanitarian work also reflected his love of Spanish culture. He traveled five times to Central America, especially to Nicaraqua, with the Ocotal/Hartford Sister City group and Pastors for Peace, which one time involved driving a trailer truck to collect health supplies from New York, down the Southern coast, through Mexico, and then into Central America.
The same zest for life can be seen in Jim’s involvement in community action and in politics both in Hartford and in Glastonbury, where he was a member of the Glastonbury Town Committee. Jim was equally avid about sports, playing semi pro baseball and soccer in his youth and spending as much time as possible on the golf links, especially with his Keney Park and Goodwin Park buddies, in later years. Jim’s one regret in life was that his father would not allow him to skip his schooling to accept being drafted by Connie Mack of the former Philadelphia Athletics. To everyone’s puzzlement Jim was one of the few diehard Detroit Tigers fans in New England.
When Jim’s health grounded him, he took up learning to play the ukulele and joining the Glastonbury Ukulele Band under the direction of Dr. Jim Rosakoff. Although Jim told people to come hear “his band”, the experience allowed him to play all over the area and to meet so many new friends.
Jim lived a good life, He was a good man.
Jim is survived by his wife Kathleen Collins; his son Jim Carroll and wife Maureen, their sons Connor and Riley; his stepchildren Michael Collins, wife Nancy, and daughter Micaela; Maura O’Donnell and sons Liam and Colin; Dr. Mark Collins, wife Louisa Grauel, and their twins Clarisse and Malcolm; and his sister-in-law Jane Carroll of Spofford, NH. Jim also leaves his four-legged pal Max. Jim was predeceased by his parents, his brother Paul Carroll, and his son-in-law Thomas O’Donnell.
Friends may call on the family on Thursday, December 27, at the Farley-Sullivan Funeral Home, 50 Naubuc Avenue, Glastonbury, between the hours of 3p.m. and 6 p.m. Funeral services will be on Friday, December 28, proceeding from the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. to a mass of Christian burial at 10:00 a.m. at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 53 Capitol Avenue, Hartford. Burial will be private and at a later time. Messages and words of condolence may be put on line at www.farleysullivan.com.
The family would like to thank the staff at Hartford Hospital, especially the Bliss 10 ICU and the Neurology 9 Stepdown, for their superb care; health aides Emanuel Sam, Aileen Smith, Caridad Martinez, and Richard Sarpong, who went the extra mile for Jim; and friends and neighbors at Meadow Hill, who gave much help and understanding.