Walter J. Carroll

Walter J. Carroll, lifelong Stoneham resident and patriarch of one of Stoneham's most prolific families, passed away on Thursday, December 8.



How do you begin to encapsulate in just a few words a life that's included eleven children, 32 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and 93 well-lived years?



After attending grammar school at St. Pat's and later hitchhiking each day to Malden Catholic, Walter married the love of his life, Ruth Heffernan, on April 25, 1944. What began as a simple blind date more than 70 years ago would evolve into an historic romance that leaves behind a sprawling legacy.



They soon bought a 900 square-foot, one bath house on a large lot full with apple and pear trees on Brookbridge Road. With some hard work and patience it became home for the expanding family. Although the commotion of eleven children rarely bothered him, he did once have to put his newspaper down and send the roughhousing kids to bed early. They all did, obediently, until one timid child came cautiously down the steps. When Walter asked him what he was doing back downstairs, the boy said, "Mr. Carroll, I don't live here. Can I go home now?"



For years Walter worked as a chicken farmer at Rayner's Farm in Stoneham. Later, he moved on to production control at Atlee Corp., until he retired at the age of 73 in 1991.



A passion for the horses, Walter vacationed almost every summer in Saratoga, N.Y., and has seen racing's biggest events, including the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes.



His true love, though, was his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Known as 'Grandpa' to some of the older grandchildren, but 'Papa' to the rest, Walter was happiest holding, hugging, or sometimes even teasing the younger ones. And this was never more true than in the years after his wife Ruth passed away in 1997, leaving a massive void in the tightly-knit family. Walter, true to his strong and loving nature, made that void manageable.



The beloved husband of the late Ruth (Heffernan) Carroll, Walter leaves behind eleven children, including James Carroll and his wife Geraldine, Kathleen Salera and her husband Thomas, Laura LeBlanc and her husband James, Teresa Conway and her husband Edward, all of Stoneham, Ann Conway and her husband Roy of Billerica, Ruth Cronin and her late husband James, Walter Carroll and his wife Karen, Mary Healey and her husband Peter, all of Wakefield, William Carroll and his wife Lynda of Windham, N.H., Clare Landers and her husband Mark of Derry, N.H., and John Carroll and his wife Colleen of Methuen. He was the dear brother of Joan Machado, John Carroll and his wife Dora, Evelyn Carroll, Charles Carroll and his wife Judy, and the late Philip Carroll and his wife Claire, Margaret Carroll, and Jackie Carroll. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews, 32 grandchildren, and 20 great-grandchildren.



Recently, his three year-old great-granddaughter Natalie taught Walter a few new dance moves, and encouraged him to punctuate it by taking a bow. Those who knew him, those who loved him, would certainly echo that sentiment: take a bow, Walterefor a job well done, and a life well-lived.



Please honor Walter by making donations in his memory to The Sawtelle Family Hospice House, 320 Haverhill St. Reading, MA 01867 or to The Dr. Thomas P. & Edwina H. Devlin Medical Scholarship Fund, 34 Pleasant St. Stoneham, MA 02180.