Carol J. McCarron, 78
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Carol Jean McCarron, 78, of 61 Tyler St. died Tuesday, July 15, 2014.
Born in Williamstown on Oct. 4, 1935, daughter of John Joseph and Eudocha Rondeau Richard, she attended Williamstown schools and graduated with the class of 1953 from the former Williamstown High School, where she excelled in academics and archery. She received her bachelor of arts degree from then North Adams State College, with her field of interest being English literature.
Mrs. McCarron was a substitute teacher in the North Adams Public Schools, with which her husband, the late Eugene J. McCarron, was also employed as a science teacher. During high school, she worked as a telephone operator at the Williamstown office on Spring Street at a time when each call was connected individually by the operator.
She and her husband, whom she met at NASC, made their home in North Adams, where they raised their 10 children. As their children were growing up, the family spent many fondly remembered vacations on the beaches of Cape Cod and, after their children had homes of their own, Mr. and Mrs. McCarron traveled extensively in the western United States and in Ireland with ElderHostel.
Her literary interests continued throughout her life and she became a prolific poet, writing about her family, her gardens, her faith and her love of the diverse beauty of nature. She was a communicant and a devoted Eucharistic minister at the former St. Francis' Church throughout her adult life and a member of its Rosary Society. As a teenager, she spent summers as a camp counselor at the Williamstown Girl Scout Camp on Northwest Hill, where she taught outdoor skills to young campers in the "Lost Colony."
Her husband, whom she married on Aug. 13, 1956, at St. Patrick's Church in Williamstown, died June 28, 2001.
Her she leaves five daughters, Mary Jean Marotta of Leominster, Margaret Eudocha Fitzpatrick of Novi, Mich., Barbara Ann Naclerio of Madison, Conn., Kathleen Blanche Morey of Scotia, N.Y., and Melissa Nancy McCarron of Northampton; four sons, Michael John McCarron of North Adams, Patrick Joseph McCarron of Lehi, Utah, and Paul Thomas McCarron and Matthew Anthony McCarron, both of Adams; two brothers, John Albert Richard of Wynantskill, N.Y., and Peter James Richard of North Adams; her sister, Nancy Richard Donta of Falmouth; 15 grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and her caring companion during her long illness, her daughter-in-law Marie Najame McCarron.
Another son, Shawn Andrew McCarron, predeceased her.
FUNERAL NOTICE - The funeral for Mrs. McCarron will be Friday, July 18, at 10:15 a.m. from Flynn & Dagnoli-Montagna Home for Funerals, West Chapels, 521 West Main St., North Adams, followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 11 at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church. Burial will follow in Southview Cemetery.
Calling hours will be Thursday, July 17, from 4 to 7 at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to the Eugene McCarron Scholarship in care of the funeral home.