The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Carole Cells, 79, passed away peacefully on July 17 surrounded by the love of her family.
Born on November 1, 1946, in Linden, Carole was the beloved daughter of George and Henrietta Aiken. She grew up in Linden, where she met her lifelong best friend, Darlene Lucius Pulitzer, at the age of six. Their friendship lasted more than 70 years.
As a child, Carole spent treasured summers with her beloved grandmother in Keansburg, at her boarding house along the Jersey Shore. There she learned to cook, sew, care for a home, and, most importantly, experienced the unconditional love that would shape the way she lived her own life.
Carole graduated from Kean University and fulfilled her dream of becoming a 1st Grade teacher. She devoted her career to educating young children and quietly helped many families by providing Christmas gifts and assistance to those in need.
Carole was a resident of Franklin Township for over 40 years. She was a longtime parishioner of Saint Matthias Catholic Church. A devoted mother to her three daughters, Tara, Patty, and Krysta. Carole raised them with extraordinary love, strength, and selflessness. As a single mother, she worked tirelessly to provide them with every opportunity, including a private school education, family vacations, holidays filled with tradition, and a home where everyone felt welcome. Her kitchen table became a place of comfort not only for her family but also for many of her daughters’ friends, who found in Carole a trusted listener and second mother.
Carole enjoyed being surrounded by family and friends, reading, journaling, collecting stamps, shopping, beautiful jewelry, dancing in her younger years, chocolate, desserts, and spending quiet moments beneath her favorite tree in Buccleuch Park. She especially loved Christmas, Thanksgiving, Sunday family dinners, and making lasting memories with those she loved.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Carole retired from teaching at the age of 51. Though the disease gradually limited her mobility, it never diminished her kindness, grace, or generous spirit. She spent her later years traveling between Florida and New Jersey, sharing her time with her family.
Her greatest joy was being “Grandma.”
She is lovingly survived by her daughters, Tara Cells, Patty Cells and her partner Jules Colby, and Krysta Kirlew and her husband Stephen Kirlew, and her eight cherished grandchildren, John Keefe, James Keefe, Jordan Keefe, Jerry Cells, Alexander Cells, Damon Cells, Leanne Kirlew, Annabelle Kirlew, and great-granddaughter Saphira Keefe.
Family and friends are invited to celebrate Carole’s life from 1-3:15 p.m. July 25 at Gleason Funeral Home.
Carole will be remembered for her unwavering love, quiet generosity, and the way she made everyone who entered her life feel welcome. Her greatest legacy lives on in the family she adored, the students she inspired, and the countless lives she touched with her compassion.
