Dennis Carroll Obituary

Dennis Carroll, of Tinton Falls, NJ passed away peacefully Sunday December 8, 2024.
Dennis was born in Newark NJ in 1941 and grew up in Newark and Woodland Park, NJ. He moved to Asbury Park in 2002 after retiring from 35 years with the Ridgewood NJ public schools as an art teacher at George Washington Junior High School and Ridgewood High School, District Supervisor of Art and Co-Artistic Director of the high school New Players Theater Company. HIs first teaching job was at Waldwick NJ High School.
Dennis was a graduate of Montclair State University, receiving his BA and MA and also a veteran of the US Army having served in Vietnam in 1968-69.
Shortly after moving to Asbury Park, he became involved in the art community as co-owner of the APeXgallery, curator at Heaven Arts and Antiques Gallery and founding board member of the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park, where he also served as president from 2009-2012, and the ReVision Theatre Company.
As an artist, his photographs depict spare, evocative spaces, while the paintings are loosely rendered and highly charged color abstractions. His works have been shown in the NJ State Museum in Trenton, Montclair Art Museum, Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Monmouth Museum, Summit Art Center and the Zimmerli Museum at Rutgers University. His photograph, Bar Closed, won a Juror's Award at the 2010 Monmouth County Arts Council Exhibition at the Monmouth Museum.
Dennis is a recipient of the Governor's Award for Art Education, the Art Educators of NJ Distinguished Service Award and the Ridgewood District's Ashby Award for Outstanding Teaching. Upon his retirement from Ridgewood, the Ridgewood High School Art Gallery was named in his honor.
Apart from his distinguished career accomplishments, Dennis will be best remembered for his love of art and passion to pass that on to each of his students.
Dennis is predeceased by his parents, Edward and Margaret and his brother Thomas. He is survived by brothers Walter and Michael, sister in law's Pat and Amy, cousins Carol and Andy and beloved nieces and nephews, Tom and Kristen, Steve and Linda, Richard and Morgen, Katie and Calder, Erin and Bruce, Sean, Amanda and Manny, Michele and Eli, Jessica, Meg and Beth and Jim and many great nieces and nephews. The family would especially like to thank Mitchell and Ron who in the last few years were loyal and dearest friends to Dennis.
Arrangements are private.