Leo Carroll

Leo Carroll, 82, of South Kingstown, RI passed away peacefully on Monday, April 15 at South County Hospital. Born in 1941 to the late Bernard and Mary (Reilly) Carroll, Leo grew up in Lynn, Massachusetts as the oldest of five siblings, Bernard, Rosemary, Joseph, and Andrea. He was predeceased by his sister Rosemary, who passed away just two days before he did.

Leo received his BA from Providence College (Summa cum Laude) in 1963, his MS from Fordham University in 1965, and his PhD from Brown University in 1974. He served as an officer in the US Army in the late 1960s during the Vietnam War. After receiving his PhD, he taught sociology and criminology at the University of Rhode Island for 45 years and served as Chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology for 12 of those years. He received the URI President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1975. Dr. Carroll was internationally known as a criminologist and published numerous articles in professional journals over the years, as well as two acclaimed books on criminal justice, one of which was awarded the Book of the Year Award in 2000 by the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. In addition, Dr. Carroll served as a Visiting Research Fellow in the Center for Criminal Justice at Harvard Law School, as a fellow at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin, Ireland, and as the George Beto Professor in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas. When he retired from URI in 2018, he was named Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Carroll served on several boards, including the ACLU of Rhode Island and the South County YMCA. He also served on the Vestry as Senior Warden at St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Narragansett, RI. He was a great lover of animals, particularly his dogs Simon and Bear, who predeceased him.

Leo is survived by his beloved wife of 35 years, Jeanne (Crewes) Carroll. He leaves two loving daughters from his previous marriage to Carol (Wright) Moser, Jennifer Long and wife Frieda Gillespie and Gretchen O’Brien and husband Patrick, as well as two stepchildren, Catherine Moore, and Chris Moore and his husband Bill Dilworth . Leo was the proud grandfather of eight: Benjamin, Timothy, and Julia Long, Maggie and Kyleigh O’Brien, and Joseph, Sarabeth, and Jessica McClain. He also had many nieces, nephews, and grandnieces/nephews, whom he adored. He always said he was proudest of being a father, and his children and grandchildren were his greatest joy.

Visitation will be held from 10-11 am on Wednesday, April 24th in St. Peter’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 72 Central Street, Narragansett, RI. A funeral service will be held at 11 am with a luncheon in the church hall to follow. In lieu of flowers, please donate to St. Peter’s By-the-Sea or to the South County Health Cancer Center at South County Hospital in Wakefield, RI.