Robert Earl “Bob” Carroll

April 3, 1935 to October 5, 2020

Robert Earl Carroll (Bob) was born April 3, 1935, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Lemuel Earl Carroll and Luan Jessie Traudt Carroll Carswell (Joyce). On October 5, 2020, he died peacefully, at home, with his wife by his side. He had been in Hospice care for two weeks with cancer.

He witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. At age 16, he began teaching swimming, acquired his jeep, and built a dark room for his photography. A body-surfer, he loved hiking and camping in Hawaii’s mountains and valleys. He became an outstanding marksman in R.O.T.C. and edited his Punahou Class of 1953 Yearbook.

A biological-sciences major at Stanford, he met his future wife when they were co-chair for a Homecoming float that won the most humorous trophy.

Earning his MD in 1961 from Albany Medical College, he developed a hobby of building model ships, which culminated in a model of the Philadelphia, used by the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Vergennes, VT, in 1988, as a fundraising tool for the full-size replica docked at the museum today.

After a traditional medical internship at Albany Medical Center, he chose a public health residency at the New York State Department of Health, featuring research, epidemiology, and bio-statistics; earned his MPH (Masters of Public Health) from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, MA, and co-authored several chronic-disease epidemiological studies.

As Chief, Epidemiology Section, Air Pollution, 1965-1967, in the U.S. Public Health Service, Commissioned Corp, stationed in Cincinnati, Ohio, he conducted studies in the South and West.


He loved Westport, Lake Champlain, Depot Theatre Shows, boating, family, and assorted visiting dogs. His family came to Westport as boaters in 1969. In early days, before purchasing what became Westport Marina, Inc. and The Galley Restaurant and Bar, he was active in the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, often volunteering to search for lost or overdue boaters in the dark.

An assistant scoutmaster, he took part in monthly camp-outs and enjoyed orienteering (bushwhacking) in the Adirondacks with friends. Passionate about swimming instruction and water safety, he was a 50-year volunteer for the American Red Cross. Researching genealogy for family and friends fascinated him.

Town Health officer for many years, before Westport, he was Professor of Preventive and Community Medicine and Department Chair at Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY. Developed under his watch were the Whitney M. Young Community Health Center, the Physician's Assist Program, and Nurse Practitioner Program.

He was predeceased by his parents, and step-father, Archibald Atlee Carswell. Surviving him are his wife of 63 years Diane Rogers Carroll (Dee), of Westport, NY; his sons, James Robert Carroll, Lawrence David Carroll and his wife Lane Laveeta Phillips Carroll, of Westport, NY. Grandchildren include Alyssa Michelle Carroll with Kevin Szemis, of Los Angeles, CA; Kelsey Margaret Carroll with Beck Simpson, of Charlottesville, VA; Lienne Alexandra Carroll Lewis, of Rome, NY; Jordan George Lewis, Rome, NY; Tanner Sabatis Carroll and Jemma Corrine Bogue Carroll, of Clifton Park, NY; Cassidy Tanawianita Carroll Ford and James Frederick Ford, of Boise, ID; great grandchildren Isa Jayne Lewis, Henry George Lewis, and Callahan Lawrence Carroll. Step-brother Donn Atlee Carswell (Curly), Kauai, HI, and half-sister Stephanie Carroll Miranda, CA. Nieces and nephews in Kauai, HI. Ginene Elise Gereau Carroll Mason, Edward Charles Mason, Willsboro, NY.

A celebration of his life is planned for Sunday, October 18, 2020, in Ballard Park, Westport, NY, at 2 pm. Guests are invited to bring something to sit on, wear masks, and socially distance themselves about the park. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, 26 Emory St., Morrisonville, NY 12962, or to a charity of your choice.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Heald Funeral Home, 7521 Court Street, Elizabethtown, NY, 12932. To leave an online condolence please visit www.healdfuneralhomeinc.com .