James D. Carroll

James D. Carroll, 79, of North Hampton, NH and formerly Newburyport, MA, died with his children at his bedside at Boston Medical Center on January 14th, 2018, after a sudden illness. He was the son of the late Charles A. and Winifred (Hall) Carroll of Newburyport. Jim was born at Anna Jaques Hospital May 21, 1938, and spent the majority of his life residing in Newburyport. He was graduated salutatorian of his 1956 high school class at the Immaculate Conception, and went on to attend Boston College. He received his B.S. degree in math and physics from Lowell Technological Institute.


His career focused on computer programming, beginning at EG&G and ending after 28 years employment at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory, Hanscom Air Force Base, in Lexington.


In his youthful exuberance, Jim was the perpetrator of a few pranks in town, the most notable of which was the painting of the letter "t" at the end of Henry Graf's name, on the March's Hill water tower during a mayoral race.


Jim loved to vegetable garden, and it was obvious to anyone driving by his brown bungalow on Merrimac Street that the man had a love of the soil. People often stopped to take pictures of his garden with the sunflowers beautifully framing the plot, turning their heads to the sun. He loved his blueberries and would obsessively measure their yield, wanting to ensure it increased each year.


Jim was a terrific ballroom dancer, and spent many years attending various ballrooms with his long-time partner Florence, to dance the evening away. He was an equally talented bridge player, achieving the rank of Sectional Master in the American Contract Bridge League, and was a member of several local bridge clubs in the area.


He leaves a son, James D. Carroll II of Boston, a daughter Lynne Belmer (Bruce) of Exeter, NH, and daughter Jeanne Carroll (Ioannis) of Derry, NH, longtime friend Florence Axford of
Methuen, siblings Charles Carroll of Newburyport and Nancy Ferrick of North Hampton, NH, brother-in-law Will Rogers (Joan) of Newburyport, and grandchildren Lauren Drouin of Epping, NH, Mitch Belmer of Exeter, NH, and Panagiotis, Elias and Avanthea Georgacopoulos of Derry NH. He was a proud great-grandfather to Charlotte and Rhyan Drouin.


At his request there will be no services. Donations may be made in his name to NAMI-NH. The family would like to express its thanks to the emergency department staff at Portsmouth Regional Hospital for their wonderful care, as well as to the staff of MICU at Boston Medical Center for their excellence in caring for Jim during his final week.