Joan E. Carroll

Joan E. Carroll, 96, of Lakewood, NJ passed away peacefully on December 14, 2025 after a long and fruitful life.
She is survived by her two children, Robert (Bob) Carroll and his wife Lisa of Califon, NJ and Brian Carroll and his wife Melinda of Greenwich, CT, as well as her seven grandchildren: Hayley, Renee, Dylan, Eliza, Sadie, Charles and Theodore. Joan is also survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Alice and Tom McVeigh. Joan's loving husband of 54 years, Thomas Carroll, passed away in 2017.
Joan was born in Trenton, NJ on September 23, 1929 to Francis Farley and Mary Gorman. In her early years, her family lived in the Philadelphia suburbs, before settling in Westfield, NJ. Joan attended high school at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Watchung, NJ and went on to college at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ. Many of Joan's closest friends over the next 80 years were her classmates from both the Mount and Georgian Court. She cherished these friendships throughout her life and looked forward to frequent formal and informal reunions over many decades.
After college, Joan worked at Seton Hall University as the Assistant Registrar while also completing her Masters in English. She went on to be a Lecturer in the Faculty of the English Department and eventually was promoted to Registrar for the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry.
Joan married Thomas Carroll of New York in 1963 and they settled in Chatham Township, NJ. There they raised their two sons, Bob and Brian, were active members of the community and founding members of the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church. After raising her own children, Joan returned to her love of education and working with children at the Winston School in Short Hills, NJ. Upon retiring, she moved with her husband to Lakewood, NJ in 2001.
Throughout her life, Joan embraced her passion for reading and writing. She was also known for her beautiful penmanship, always in script, until her final days. Joan was a true Jersey girl. She loved vacationing in Avalon on the Jersey shore as a child and continued the tradition with her own family. She loved to explain how Avalon was "cooler by a mile." Her husband Tom squired her away on European holidays, but she always cherished her time on the Jersey Shore. Likewise, Chatham became the center of her world for almost forty years as she raised her family, worked, volunteered and was surrounded by countless friends. Joan had boundless energy, a quick smile, an easy laugh and was a determined optimist. She will be remembered as a loving, wise, patient and devoted wife, mother, grandmother and friend. Joan was an inspiration and will be dearly missed.
Visiting will be at the William A. Bradley Funeral Home, 345 Main St in Chatham, NJ on Thursday, December 18th from 9 am to 10:30 am, with the funeral mass to follow at 11 am at the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church, 234 Southern Blvd., in Chatham Township, NJ. Interment will be at the Fair Mount Cemetery in Chatham, NJ. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation to the Winston School in Short Hills, NJ.