Lee Ann (Carroll) Fandel, 58, of Boxford, Mass. died peacefully on July 11 at her home after an 18-month battle with a brain tumor.
Lee Ann was born June 15, 1956, in Wilmington, Del., and grew up in the tight-knit neighborhood of Asbury Street in Hamilton. She graduated from Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School in 1974, where she played the flute in concert bands and led the marching band as drum major. She received her bachelor’s degree from Salem State College, and later returned to earn a Master’s Degree of Science in nursing with highest honors in 1999.
Lee Ann and her husband Bill worked for many years at Partners Health Care, and the couple formed an inseparable loving bond. Her career in nursing was well-suited to her compassionate and giving nature. She enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as an outstanding nursing educator and as a visiting nurse on the North Shore. Her friends and co-workers in nursing both learned from Lee Ann and enjoyed the inspiration of her smile and optimism.
Lee loved to travel, and in their years together she and Bill explored Alaska, Hawaii and California, and they hiked together in several national parks across the West. The highlight of their traveling adventures was a 17-day trip in 2013 to Italy and Switzerland, including a nine-day cruise around the Mediterranean and Adriatic.
She also loved swimming and being in and around the water or at the beach, and she was a lifeguard while still a teenager.
Lee Ann will be remembered by the many hundreds of friends and loved ones whose lives she touched for her generosity, great sense of humor, for her optimism, hard work and compassion. She was one of those rare individuals who left her imprint on the hearts of so many, even if her time in their lives may have been brief. She was a special and loving woman.
She leaves behind her loving and devoted husband, Bill; daughter, Kimberly Churches of Hamilton, Mass.; parents, Stuart and Pencie Carroll, of Jefferson; sisters, Susan (Carroll) Burdsall of Winchendon, Mass., and Patricia (Carroll) Bowe of Lakeland, Fla.; brother, Edward Carroll of Appleton; and many nieces and nephews.
Memorial services will be private, as was Lee Ann’s wish; family and friends will gather for a celebration and remembrance of her life and her loving kindness.
