Plan for the Future
Thomas F. Carroll, 96, of Lakewood, NJ passed away on June 14th in the Harrogate Health Center, surrounded by his loving wife and two sons.
Visiting will be at the William A. Bradley Funeral Home in Chatham, NJ on Monday, June 19th from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. The Funeral Mass will be held at Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in Chatham Township, NJ on Tuesday, June 20th at 10 am. Interment will follow at Fair Mount Cemetery, Chatham, NJ. In lieu of flowers the family requests you make a donation to the Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation, Mountainside, NJ or a charity of your choice.
Tom was born an only child in Brooklyn, New York on November 18, 1920 and was raised in Mineola, New York where he graduated from Mineola High School as Valedictorian of his class.
Although he wanted to go to college, Tom went directly to work after High School in order to support his widowed mother. Tom’s banking career began at First National City Bank, which later became Citibank. While working, he attended New York University in the evenings and majored in accounting. Tom also attended the New Jersey School of Banking and the Executive Program at Carnegie Mellon Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, PA.
Tom Served in the U.S. Army during World War II from 1943 to 1947 in England, France and Germany. He landed at Normandy several weeks after D-Day. When the war ended, he was appointed Commandant of a German Prison of War Camp in France. Until 1967, when he retired as a Lt. Colonel, he remained in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Tom always said he would rather ski than eat! He began skiing at 18 when he joined young friends on the Vermont ski slopes. Skiing was his favorite sport, which he enjoyed in New England and Canada and later in life in Colorado and Utah. At 78 he was forced to give up skiing because of his poor eyesight.
In 1963, he married Joan Farley from Westfield, NJ at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church. Joan converted him to a New Jersey resident and they built a home in Chatham Township where they raised their two sons, Bob and Brian. Tom called Chatham Township the perfect place to raise a family and “The Highlands” (Van Houton Avenue) the perfect place to make good friends.
While living in Chatham Township, Tom and Joan were parishioners and founding members of Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, where they remained very active until they moved from Chatham Township to Lakewood in 2001. Tom was a member of the first Parish Council and later active in the Homeless Programs and Boys Youth Group. In Lakewood Tom and Joan lived in a senior retirement village and when his health failed, they moved to Harrogate.
Travel was a passion for Tom. While serving in the U.S. Army in Europe, he developed an interest in visiting foreign countries beginning with England and France. He later took extensive trips through Europe. After he was married, he took Joan on a six-week tour of Europe and introduced her to travelling overseas!
Once he became a father, Tom devoted most of his free time to Bob and Brian. As they grew, he became more involved in their activities. Summer vacations were in Avalon, NJ, Hilton Head, SC and Amelia Island, FL. Bob and Brian were his pride and joy!
After retiring from Citibank, Tom spent a many more years working in New York City as a Senior Vice President of Union Chelsea National Bank. Tom had looked forward to having grandchildren and was thankful when Bob and Brian married and were blessed with children. He was fondly called Grandpa by four granddaughters and three grandsons.
Tom was predeceased by his parents, Thomas and Mary, many cousins and dear friends. He is survived by Joan, his beloved wife of 54 years, his devoted sons – Bob and his wife Lisa and children Hayley, Renee and Dylan; Brian and his wife Melinda and children Eliza, Sadie, Charlie and Teddy. Also surviving are his sister-in-law, Alice McVeigh and her husband Tom, and nephew Tom McVeigh and his wife Maria, nephew Mike McVeigh and niece Alyssa Newton and her husband Patrick. Tom leaves four cousins: Helen Connell, Jack Connell, Ned Connell and wife Rosemond, and Alice Berta and husband Ken.