Born on June 24, 1960, in Middletown, NY, he prepared for college at Leominister (MA) High School. Following his graduation cum laude from Bowdoin in 1982, he entered the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, where he earned his M.D. degree. He did his surgery residence at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, followed by a residency in emergency medicine there. He was an emergency room physician at the Milford (MA) Regional Medical Center, the medical director of the Milford and Northborough Para-Medics, and the secretary-treasurer of Orion Emergency Medical Services. After completing his residencies, he was an Emergency Life-Flite physician at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center for four years. In 1998, he was selected to receive the Massachusetts State Legislature’s Massachusetts Physician of the Year Award. For eight years, he was a coach in the Northborough Youth Soccer Association. Surviving are his wife, Dr. Mary-Ellen Taplin, whom he married in 1987; two daughters, Emily Carol and Hallie Carol, both living at home; his mother, Roberta Palmer Carol of Boynton Beach, FL; and two brothers, Mark Carol of San Francisco, CA, and David Carol of Charlotte, NC.