I got to know Joe Carroll in the fall of 1979. He was and still is avid golfer, an all around good athlete who joined us "Early Birds" at the Madison N.J. YMCA at least three times a week. He had four loves in his life......his wife of sixty seven and half years, fast cars, golf and horses. His love of Adele was always number one. What made Joe different to many members among us Early Birds was Joe's contagious sense of humor. He came in each morning with a smile on his face ready to tease me or any other guys in his path. He left an hour or so later wishing us all a great day.
As his good friend and fellow Early Bird, Gary Ruckelshaus wrote in the endorsment of his book, " Joe Carroll does not describe himself in his memoirs as a famous person, nor would I on the other hand describe him as an "ordinary Joe." Richard Bogart, another friend, describes Joe as a man "Whose friends love him because he spends every day of his life giving so much more than he can ever recieve".
Starting to work on his way to school at the tender age of seven, he contributed most of his earnings for the next eighteen to twenty years to his mom.I cannot say it was my homilies that Joe heard once a week at St Vincent Martyr Church that made Joe such a conscientous young boy. He learned these lessons of sharing from living in a home with a hard working father, a caring mother and twelve siblings.He had them confirmed by twelve years of Catholic Education and the discipline meted out by the Sisters of Charity.
All of the above motivated me to volunteer to write Joe's memoirs. As Richard Bogart said "This is a man and his story well worth knowing"
Call your local bookstore and order The Many Loves of Joe Carroll
ISBN 978-0-9794324-0-8
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