East Greenwich Resident

Alfred R Carll, 89, a long-time resident of East Greenwich, RI passed away surrounded by his family on March 9, 2023.

He was the beloved husband of the late Patricia L (Pacheco) Carll. They were married on May 31, 1958 at St Rose of Lima Church in Warwick, RI & lived in East Greenwich for 42 years.

He was a loving father to Lori Rudd & her husband Jeffrey Rudd of Foxboro, MA, Lynn Birch and her husband Keith Birch of Mansfield, MA, Stephen Carll of Jamestown, RI, and Thomas Carll and his wife Donamarie Carll of Warwick, RI. He was Papa to Alexandra Bennett & her husband Andrew Bennett of Billerica, MA, Allyson Rudd of Los Angeles, CA, Alina Birch of Norfolk, MA, Daniel Rudd of Arlington, VA, Kit Birch of Boston, MA, Caroline Rudd of Foxboro, MA and Brandon Carll of Warwick, RI. He was godfather to Donna Kane of Bosworth, CT.

Al was born in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City on June 27, 1933. He was the son of the late Armand + Alina (Ovaskainen ) Carll. He is also survived by cousins in Canada and many nieces and nephews.

When Al was in grade school he and his parents moved from New York City to their forever home on Bragger Street on Gorton Pond in Apponaug, RI when his dad started a job as an ironworker building the Braga Bridge in Fall River. He graduated from LaSalle Academy in 1951 + served in the Air Force as a Radio Technician in Utopia Creek, Alaska at the Indian Mountain Air Force Station + later in Charleston, South Carolina with the 792nd Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. It was while he was in the Air Force that he discovered a passion for electronics that led to his engineering career.

Al and Pat got married in 1958 + moved briefly to Murray Hill, New Jersey where he worked for Bell Labs tasked with improving the telephone – he left because he thought the telephone worked just fine. They moved back to RI where he proudly earned his BS in Electrical Engineering from URI in 1963. He went on to get his MS in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University, driving from RI to Boston with his buddies two nights/week for three years, taking Route 1 the whole way because Route 95 wasn’t built yet.

His career was storied – starting at Amperex Electronics in Cranston and moving to Raytheon in Portsmouth to work in the Defense Industry. He then joined the Naval Underwater Systems Center (then NUSC, now NUWC) in Middletown where he was an In-Service Engineering Program Manager developing sonar systems for the Trident Nuclear Submarines until his retirement in 1995.

Al and Pat called East Greenwich their home for 42 years. Al loved to work on his Balsam Drive home, was the ultimate do-it-yourselfer and was passionate about his yard + vegetable garden. They enjoyed their retirement years with trips to Europe, Hawaii, the Cape & throughout New England. For 20+ years they were members of the Exeter Country Club playing as much golf as possible, were snowbirds in New Smyrna Beach, FL, and happily watched their seven grandchildren grow. He was quite proud of his ‘Hole-in-One’ at the Exeter golf course.

Al was incredibly handy – he could fix anything, build anything and didn’t relax until his to-do list was complete. His love of building led him to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity in South County for many years. He was pictured in the Providence Journal while helping to build a home in South Kingstown for a couple with four children who were living in a 2-bedroom apartment. The State of RI issued a commendation to Al for helping to build seventeen Habitat for Humanity homes and he received Christmas cards from Jimmy + Roslyn Carter thanking him for his service to Habitat.

A special thanks to the residents + caregivers at the Village at Willow Crossing for being a part of Al’s family, especially since Pat’s passing. He loved his Grumpy Old Men Breakfasts + Pub Time every afternoon. He shared how much he appreciated his Willows friends and caregivers who became his extended family.

Al’s family would like to express their gratitude to the incredible doctors and their teams at Brigham + Women Hospital and Sturdy Hospital as well as to the amazing caregivers at the Village at Willow Crossing + Old Colony Hospice. Thank you to family and friends with a special shoutout to Denise Rougeau, his dear friend and caregiver, for the outpouring of love & support for Al and his family.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, March 17th at 10:00am at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 65 Third St., East Greenwich.  Burial with military honors will be in St. Patrick Cemetery, East Greenwich. Visiting hours will be held on Thursday, March 16th from 5-8 pm at Hill Funeral Home, 822 Main Street, East Greenwich. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to a charity of one’s choice.

You can leave an online condolence at the Hill Funeral Home website HERE.

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