Carol H. Conrad

Surrounded by her loved ones, Carol passed away peacefully on March 22, 2026 in the Hope Health Hulitar Hospice Center in Providence, Rhode Island, coming full circle to the city where she was born. She battled four different types of cancer during the course of her life and was a true survivor.

Carol was born on October 8, 1943 to Richard P. and Elizabeth (Gardner) Hooker. She is survived by her beloved husband, David J. Conrad, Sr., with whom she celebrated 60 years of marriage this past January 22. Carol is also survived by their three children: Jennifer Conrad (Bryan House) of Upton; David Conrad, Jr. (Sharon Golden) of Grand Junction, CO; and Elizabeth Conrad McLaughlin (Chris) of Sharon. She was predeceased by her infant daughter in 1967. Her nephew, Christopher Costello of Atlantic City, was another son to her, and provided invaluable assistance to Carol during the last months of her life.

Carol was the extremely proud and loving grandmother of six treasured grandchildren: Kellen and Bennett House, Sierra and Jace Conrad, and Conrad and Kate McLaughlin.

Carol is also survived by her brother, Richard P. Hooker, Jr. (Marie) of Venice, FL; her aunt Sonia Hill (Maurice) of Fennville, MI; her sisters-in-law Maria Conrad of Atlantic City and Janet Pustilnick of Melbourne, FL; and her many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She is also survived by her rescue cat, Sophie.

Her family moved to Holyoke, MA when Carol was a child, and she graduated from South Hadley High School in 1961. In 1965, she earned her B.S.N. in nursing from Keuka College in New York, and subsequently began her career as a nurse at the former Atlantic City Hospital.

Carol's life changed forever when she met David, the love of her life, in a chance meeting in Atlantic City in 1964. She and David brought up their children in an 1823 antique colonial in Wyben, a historic village in Westfield, MA, where they lived for 23 years before moving to Upton.

While raising her family, Carol returned to nursing at Holyoke Hospital and the Holyoke Visiting Nurse Association. She then moved into home health care administration, becoming the Executive Director of Hampshire County VNA & Homecare, Inc. in Northampton, MA. From there she became a home health care consultant with Simeone & Simeone in Framingham, MA, overcoming earlier fears of flying to travel all over the country to advise hospitals and home care agencies until retiring in 2008.

She also earned her Master’s in Education from Cambridge College.

Carol loved to travel and visited 48 out of 50 states (only missing North Dakota and Indiana) and many countries (including numerous tropical destinations) with David, her best travel companion. However, her favorite place was closer to home: Little Compton, Rhode Island, where she spent time every single summer of her life, and instilled her love for this special place in her family.

A lifelong learner and do-er, her family often said she was the “original Martha Stewart.” From gardening, restoring an antique home, to canning, sewing quilts and even Halloween costumes, she did it all. She was a voracious reader and an early adopter of technology, mastering a personal computer before most people even owned one.

She loved her many pets that she had over the years (except for maybe the horse that she allowed her children in a rare moment of maternal weakness). All of the family’s cats and dogs were rescue animals.

Most of all, she loved her grandchildren, and she was heavily involved with their lives and caring for them. She attended countless sporting events, recitals, and school functions. She and David (bravely) took them on many adventures: most memorably to Saratoga, NY; Anna Maria Island, FL, San Francisco, Lake Powell, UT; Philadelphia, as well as Oregon, the Jersey Shore, and Bryce Canyon, to name just a few.

She loved a cold glass of wine at the end of the day and listening to John Denver and Jimmy Buffett, and her many family and friends now raise a toast to her life. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her and loved her.

There will be a celebration of Carol’s life on Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at the United Congregational Church of Little Compton, 1 Commons, Little Compton, Rhode Island. The celebration will also be livestreamed and details will be provided.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Carol’s memory may be sent to Baypath Humane Society of Hopkinton, 500 Legacy Farms North, Hopkinton MA 01748 or via www.baypathhumane.org.

Carol’s family would especially like to thank the ICU doctors, nurses and staff at Milford Regional Hospital and the nurses and staff at Hope Health Hulitar Hospice Center for their kind, attentive care to Carol in the final days of her life.