Christine Carroll, cofounder of Crossing Vineyards and Winery, author, and former teacher, has died at 73

Christine Carroll, 73, of Washington Crossing, cofounder of Crossing Vineyards and Winery, eclectic entrepreneur, author, newspaper columnist, and former English teacher at Neshaminy High School, died Monday, June 5, from complications of a stroke at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Although Mrs. Carroll was an exceptional student, dedicated teacher, successful business owner, and published writer, it was her indomitable spirit, unending kindness, and abiding religious faith that family and friends admired most. Born with a serious blood clotting disorder, type 3 von Willebrand disease, Mrs. Carroll refused to let the challenges she encountered and the uncertainly of her future restrict her joy for living.

She made sure to have the medicine she needed wherever she went and knew where the local hospitals were, but she never avoided riding horses, skiing snowy slopes, and fishing and snorkeling in waters around the world. She and her husband Tom visited more than 75 countries on six continents during their 52-year marriage, and he constantly marveled at her perseverance and selfless courage.

“She never let that disease get in her way,” Tom Carroll said. “She was my superhero. We were Batman and Robin.”

A few years ago, in one of her newspaper columns, Mrs. Carroll wrote: “Getting out of your routine and deliberately inserting yourself into the middle of the unfamiliar can be a great way to help you open your mind. And, if you’re really lucky, it might even help you open your heart.”

Her son Tom Jr. said: “She was an amazing force. She was always on a mission to try everything.”

A lifelong high achiever, Mrs. Carroll finished at the top of her classes in high school and college, and she and her husband and son cofounded Crossing Vineyards and Winery in Washington Crossing in 2000. She became a certified specialist of wine through the Society of Wine Educators, served on the board of the Pennsylvania Winery Association, and advocated constantly for local wineries.

She and her husband also owned and operated several other businesses, including BVI Inc. and Seeworthy Books publishing company. She wrote four children’s books, including 2013′s I Love You Better Than Pizza, and created the character Princess Ava after her granddaughter Ava.

She published stories in Wines & Vines magazine and wrote a monthly column, Through the Grapevine, for the Inter-County Newspaper Group for nearly two decades. Her novel, Two Pennies Overboard, is to be published later, her husband said.

Earlier, Mrs. Carroll taught English at Neshaminy High School from 1971 to 1975 and supervised the Philadelphia Bulletin’s Newspapers in Education program. “When I was younger I didn’t realize how amazing this person was,” her son said.

Born Aug. 17, 1949, in Philadelphia, Christine Maria O’Donnell grew up in the Resurrection Parish in Bustleton and graduated second in her class at St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and education, and finished second in her class at Chestnut Hill College in 1971. In 1978, she received a master’s degree in English and education, and finished first in her class at the College of New Jersey.

She met Tom Carroll on a blind date on Feb. 9, 1968, and he can’t say what the movie they attended was about because they whispered to each other during the entire show. They married in 1971, had son Tom Jr., and lived in Bensalem, Yardley, and Washington Crossing. He called her Dolly because “she was my little doll.”

Mrs. Carroll played piano, violin, and guitar, and sang with her family as the O’Donnell Sisters in Atlantic City. She enjoyed nature and liked to walk with her young son along the Delaware Canal and challenge him to imagine a future full of wonder and achievement. “She dreamed big,” her son said.

She had dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland, and was featured in the Irish Echo newspaper in 2018, phillyburbs.com in 2013, and other publications. She was a eucharistic minister at church and doted on her daughter-in-law Katherine Falconi and grandchildren Ava and Austin.

“We had a love story,” her husband said. “She was my lifeblood. I was her guard dog. She was my guide dog.”

In addition to her husband, son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, Mrs. Carroll is survived by two brothers, three sisters, and other relatives. A sister died earlier.

Visitation with the family is to be from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, July 15, at St. George’s Church, 1317 River Rd., Titusville, N.J. 08560. A funeral Mass is to follow.

Donations in her name may be made to Penn Medicine’s Comprehensive Hemophilia and Thrombosis Program, Penn Medicine Development, Attn: Christian Hyde, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. Checks are payable to Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Please note “in memory of Christine Carroll” online and on checks.