Robert Patrick Carroll Jr.

1925 – 2010

PORTLAND – “Pat” Carroll of Gray, passed away Wednesday, March 3, at The Cedars in Portland.

He was born on April 24, 1925, to Robert P. Carroll Sr. and Nellie Poland of Portland. He attended Portland Schools until 1943 when he answered the call for service, enlisting in the U.S. Navy. He served in the Pacific theater aboard destroyers and within the Atlantic theater aboard troop transport ships until his honorable discharge in 1946.

Following his military service, he worked at Maine Central Railroad as a mail and baggage handler and other positions until a disability forced him to leave the railroad after nearly 30 years.

In late 1946, he met Charlene Bearor of Anson. They were married in Madison on Aug. 25, 1947, making their home in Portland, South Portland and finally moving to Gray in 1958. They celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary last August.

Pat was devoted to and very proud of his family. He provided Charlene and their five children — along with scores of neighborhood kids frequently at their home – with guidance, inspiration, quiet leadership and a living example of giving back to family and community. He was a constant source of love, laughter and warmth.

Along with a few friends, Pat created the Gray Youth Club in the early 1960s. The organization provided hundreds of boys and girls the opportunity to participate in baseball, softball, Wednesday night summer street dances, evening skating rink activities, a marching drill team and even the “Twirling Teens” square dancing group. Pat believed in the goodness of kids as his optimism and faith shaped the future of many of the children he touched. Pat coached baseball at the Little League and Babe Ruth League levels while his sons were playing (aptly naming his Little League team the TWINS with uniforms in his ancestral colors of kelly green and gold).

Pat continuously gave back to his hometown, becoming a member of the VFW, a life member of the American Legion, and decades of volunteering as a driver for Gray Rescue. He was one of the leaders in helping develop the summer chapel at St. Gregory’s Catholic Church into a year-round parish. He was an active communicant in the parish.

Ever proud of his Irish heritage, Pat wore the green of Ireland not only on St. Patrick’s Day, but daily with a quick wit, a ready wink from smiling eyes, the lilt of laughter that brought a glow to all around, and a willingness to share bits of wisdom or a story occasionally combining truth, myth and a wee bit of blarney. He remembered fondly the 1979 trip with high school students to the “auld sod.” In this light and in his honor, the family requests the wearing of a bit of green to celebrate his love of life and people.

He is survived by his best friend and wife of 62 years, Charlene; a brother, Phillip Carroll, of Florida; a daughter, Jean Burnell; twin sons, Donnell and Daniel, and twin sons, Mathew and Michael; 12 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

His parents and an infant brother, Daniel, predeceased him.

The family wishes to express the deep and heartfelt appreciation to the caring, dedicated and thoughtful staff at The Cedars during Pat’s time at their facility.

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