updated Jan. 24, 3:15 pm
Leigh Conroy Carroll Sr., 80, of Vineyard Haven, died peacefully at his home with his family on Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. He was predeceased by his wife of 36 years, Priscilla Cummens Carroll, in May 2005.
Leigh was born on Sept. 25, 1936, at home in Vineyard Haven to William and Alexandra Carroll. He graduated from Tisbury High School in 1954, and attended Stockbridge School of Agriculture at the UMass Amherst campus. Leigh worked for his dad during high school when the family business, Carroll’s Martha’s Vineyard Rapid Transit, which William Carroll founded, operated out of the Carroll family home. After attending Stockbridge, he spent some time on the West Coast, tuna fishing off the coast of South America, before returning home to work in the family business. The business eventually moved to what is now known as the Tisbury Marketplace. Later, Leigh played a major role in purchasing land off Edgartown Road in Vineyard Haven, where the company is currently located. Leigh had continuously worked in the business, becoming a manager, then president until his recent retirement.
Leigh was a hardworking man who enjoyed sports, gardening, fishing, and telling a good joke with a big smile on his face. He loved driving the tractor-trailers on-Island and across the country, often accompanied by some of his children. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.
Leigh is survived by his children, Greg Carroll and his wife Eve, Holly Bruguiere and her husband Erik, Megan Carroll, Scott Carroll, Marc Street and his wife Meredith, and Linda Alley, as well as 11 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He is also survived by his siblings, Bill, Nancy, Madeleine, and Michael Carroll of Martha’s Vineyard, and Christine Blanthorn of Florida, as well as his mother-in-law, Esther Rabbitt Cummens of Florida, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased in death by his parents William and Alexandra Carroll; his wife Priscilla (Peggy); his sons Randolph L. Carroll and Leigh C. Carroll Jr.; and his siblings Thomas R. Carroll and Margaret Carroll Schultz.
Leigh’s family is most grateful for the wonderful, loving care that was provided by his caregivers over the past year: Christy, Victoria, Amoy, and Rose Ann, as well as Hope Hospice and Horizons Geriatric Care.
Visiting hours at Chapman, Cole and Gleason Funeral Home, Edgartown Road, Oak Bluffs, will be held on Friday, Jan. 27, from 5 to 7 pm. His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 10 am in St. Augustine’s Church, Franklin Street, Vineyard Haven, and burial will follow in the Oak Grove Cemetery, State Road, Vineyard Haven. Donations in his memory may be made to the Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group, P.O. Box 2214, Vineyard Haven, MA 02568, a nonprofit organization that Leigh sponsored for many years.
