Paul "Buck" Joseph Carroll, Jr., aged 78, died on Tuesday, April 26 in Boston of respiratory failure following a long illness. Born in Springfield, January 13, 1944, the son of the late Paul and Teresa Carroll, he grew up in Northampton where he attended St. Michael's Grammar School. He went on to graduate from Williston Academy (1962), College of the Holy Cross (1966) and Tufts Dental School (1970) and then served in the US Army at Fort Leavenworth, KS. Following military service, he had a private dental practice in Cambridge, MA while teaching at Harvard Dental School and then went on to have a distinguished dental career with the Veteran's Administration serving in multiple locations. He was the Chief of the Dental Service at VA Castle Point, NY, and then moved onto the Chiefs position at Lyons, NJ, simultaneously with the VA East Orange, NJ. Paul's last position at the VA was also a joint position at Manchester, NH, and Providence, RI. In all of Paul's positions at the VA, he mentored numerous Dental Residents and launched them into their careers. Many colleagues relied upon Paul's analytical expertise and nonjudgmental evaluation and he became known as the "conscience of the medical center." Regardless of where he resided or worked, his heart remained in New England and particularly Northampton, a place he regarded as home. Before his illness, Paul volunteered for Hospice in Cape Cod as well as in Pinehurst, NC and Meals on Wheels. He brought sustenance and friendship to those who were housebound and hospitalized and thoroughly enjoyed the relationships that he developed. Throughout his life, he was devoted to his family, friends, dogs, patients and the perennial underdog – always there to help when needed and never asking for a return in kind. He found humor as a way to connect and perhaps to see life differently and certainly to share life's absurdities. He loved sports, reveled along with Pam, his wife, in the accomplishments of their children personally, academically and athletically. His three grandchildren brought him unmitigated joy. Undergirding all this was his deep faith that nourished and sustained him throughout the good and not so good times. He truly was a man who "… fought the good fight… finished the race, and…kept the faith". He is survived by his wife Pamela Leary of Pinehurst, NC; daughter Cailly Anne Carroll (Daniel Serna) of Concord, MA; son Matthew L. Carroll (Jennifer McGowan) of Middletown, Delaware and children Finnegan, Teagan and Jack; his sister, Debra Carroll Packard of Lexington, MA; nephews, John Packard of North Andover, MA, Matthew Packard of Hingham, MA, Erich Carroll of Fairhaven, MA and Sydney Carroll Millette of Deerfield, MA. Paul/Buck was predeceased by his brother, Richard Carroll of South Yarmouth, MA. A Celebration of Life at Annunciation Chapel, 85 Beacon St., Florence, MA will be held Friday, June 17 at 10 am, followed by Burial at St. Mary's Cemetery, Northampton. In lieu of flowers, donations in Buck's memory may be made to Pine Street Inn, Attn: Development Office, 444 Harrison Ave., Boston, MA 02118 (www.pinestreetinn.org). Arrangements are under the care of Dee Funeral Home & Cremation Service of Concord.