Ann M. Carroll

Surrounded by her children, Ann Carroll, a beloved mother and grandmother, died Oct. 29, at an assisted living facility in Carneys Point, N.J. She was 82. She is remembered as a beautiful red head, an artist who loved to laugh, loved to love, and who never met a family of ducks or seabirds who couldn’t use a few more bread crumbs.

Born in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 24, 1938, she was the third of five children born to Felix and Josephine McCabe, Irish immigrants from County Tyrone and County Cavan, respectively. They didn’t have much, but they had each other. Her youngest brother, John, recalls that Ann spent the better portion of her first paycheck as a young working woman buying him new clothing and spiffing him up.

A graduate of St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls, Ann often shared fond memories of summer days at the Jersey shore. She felt honored to have attended concerts featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Jazz greats such as Tommy Dorsey and Louie Prima. She married Christopher Carroll, also of Philadelphia. Together, they raised four children in the Philadelphia area and then in Scituate, Mass. Ann was a fine artist, a painter and charcoalist enamored with the rough and rocky coast of Massachusetts’ South Shore, particularly Minot Beach in North Scituate, her favorite place on earth.

Asked about her happiest times in her life, she said, “I’m not going to go to people being born because giving birth is very painful. It was a trip we took. The Liberty Bell? No, not that one, but that was good. Probably watching all of my children in the yard raking the leaves till the pile got so high, and you got a stepladder and you all jumped in the pile. Just looking out the window and watching all of you do that. And Fourth of July. We made a humongous float. Huge. That year, you were on a tricycle all decorated. Another time, when we went up to Niagara Falls and went on the Maid of the Mist. You were all so happy. You got all wet. And Christmases, when you all still believed in Santa Claus, when you all would come down the staircase.”

Asked what one of the most loving things anyone had ever done for her, she said, “Felix McCabe, my father — the way he showed his love to me. It stays with me the rest of my life. He was the kind of father who told us stories. Every Friday he’d bring pretzels home for us. He absolutely lived for us. He didn’t have much to offer. We didn’t have money. He always worked hard at the telephone company. When he retired he made that garden, and he’d give us all this food. He grew a lot of stuff, and you could have anything you wanted from that garden. It made him happy. And he adored my children.”

Asked what she was most grateful for, she said, “My four children. I have to say that because that’s number one. They always love me, and I love them. That’s easy for us, we just love each other. Grandchildren. All these grandchildren. Each and everyone of them are so special and so good; they’re good kids.”

Asked what the most important life skill a parent can teach their children, she said, “They should all learn how to cook. Every boy and every girl.” Asked what parents are getting right these days, she said, “Most parents are really honed in on education for their kids. I think more parents really love their kids and show it. I know there are a lot of kids that suffer terribly in this world, but I see a lot of love, and that’s how the children are going to survive.”

Asked if she could go back and change anything, what it would be, she said, “I always think, ‘Did I give my children enough hugs?’ It gnaws at me. It plagues me,” she said. Her children always knew they were loved, and are grateful for their mother. Ann is survived by her children, Christopher of North Carolina; James and his wife, Lisa, of Mount Pleasant, S.C.; Jennifer Carlin and her husband, Chris, of Pilesgrove, N.J.; and Felix and his wife, Cara, of Housatonic, Mass.and daughter in law Jennifer Carroll of East Bridgewater, Mass.

She is survived by seven grandchildren: Melanie, Gregory, Jeffrey, Griffin, Sydney, Shannon, and Henry (and predeceased by Douglas) as well as two great-grandchildren, Forrest and Finnegan.

Additionally, she is survived by her siblings whom she adored: James McCabe of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; John of Feasterville, Pa.; and Aileen of Burlington, N.J. (and predeceased by Francis of Doylestown, Pa.).Funeral services will be held privately.

Donations may be made in her name to:

Ennoble Care Hospice 

1010 Haddonfield-Berlin Rd.

Voorhees, N.J. 08043