Jay Carroll NORTH BRUNSWICK — Former township Animal Control Officer Jay Carroll passed away on Feb. 3.
Carroll, 52, had suffered with cancer for over five years. The melanoma he was diagnosed with in September 2003 relapsed in December 2007, metastasizing to his hip and spine.
He said in an interview last year that he drove himself to the hospital after a late-night shift, and found out on Christmas Eve that the cancer had spread to his spine and hip.
However, since the melanoma was at stage 3, Carroll said that doctors could not operate but that 10 courses of chemotherapy over a 20-week period had shrunk the tumors in his spine. He did not have any more lymph nodes removed, but he was on oral chemotherapy.
Carroll, who began his career in animal research as an animal technician at the Hoffmann La Roche pharmaceutical company, spoke with Greater Media last September to address his concerns over skin cancer and to get involved with melanoma awareness, since early detection is key.
Carroll said his mother had passed away from melanoma in February 2004, just after his own initial diagnosis. Noting the hereditary nature of the disease, the eight-year animal control officer said he never thought much about the summers he spent outside working in a cemetery without any protective covering on his head.
The Vietnam veteran had also expressed in that article how much he realized the strength of his community, which was evident at his funeral mass at St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church in New Brunswick on Saturday.
“I want to extend my sympathy to Jay’s
family,” said Laura Rosenberg of the Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Services (DPRCS). “Having many conversations with Jay, I came to see that his tough exterior could not hide his gentle soul. Never a day went by that he didn’t walk into the office singing [and] as he sang I would try and name that tune. Jay is a very special person [and] I will deeply miss him.”
“Jay was a tremendous person with a heart of gold. He will be missed by his family, friends and coworkers,” added Greg Kikelhan, the deputy director of the DPRCS.
“Jay was a co-worker and a friend who truly loved life, his family and the community. He will be missed more than words can express. Anyone who had the opportunity to enjoy Jay’s conversations will know he left a part of himself with each of us that will live on in our daily lives,” said Lou Ann Benson, the director of the DPRCS.
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