Carrol Ann Driggers, age 88, passed away peacefully on March 17th, 2025 at her home in Gilmanton, NH, with her family by her side. She was born in 1936, in Thiels, NY, to Kelsea and Ethel Smith.

Carrol was the widow of Daniel Adel Jr. (d:1978) and Matthew Driggers (d:2016). She was one of five children. She is survived by her sister Wendy (“Sisty”) Eaton and her husband, Dave, of Florida and her brother Michael Smith of Texas. She was pre-deceased by her brothers Kelsea Smith Jr., (Skip) and William Smith (Billy). Carrol is survived by her son Daniel Adel III, his wife, Teri and their five children--Jennifer and her husband Matthew Muse; D.J. Adel IV; Nicholas Adel and his fiance, Ruthie; Alexis and her husband Chris McNamara; Connor Adel and his wife, Shayla. Carrol is also survived by her daughter, Robin Sue Adel and her children--Angela Wetli and her husband, Damon, and Robin's son, Neil Krueger and his wife, Jennifer, all of Simpsonville, SC. Carrol also enjoyed a special relationship with her step-daughter, Sheila Driggers of Manchester, NH and Sheila's son, “Mikey” Richards who passed away in 2017. 

Carrol was great-grandmother to Brandon, Andrew and Hailey Goodnough of South Carolina; her New Hampshire great-grand-children: Jade, Lily and Kinsley McNamara of Gilmanton, Maelyn and Arya Adel of Tilton/Gilford, Oakley and Lennon Adel of Gilmanton; and Dylan, Isabel and Ella Adel of California; She was “Auntie Carrol” to countless nieces and nephews and their children, too numerous to mention by name, but still very precious to her, in Rhode Island, Florida, Colorado and New Hampshire. And we must include her much-loved sisters-in-law, Bea Burgess (Paul), Ethel Browning (John), Dori Adel (Jack) and Joan Flanagan (Billy). She is also survived by her brother-in-law and his wife, Carl and Gloria Driggers.

Carrol and her first husband, Dan, were married at her parent's home in Concord, NH in 1953. They raised their two children, Dan and Robin, in various states of the southern U.S. and in Iran. After her husband completed his military career, they settled in Gilmanton, NH, on the family homestead. Together, they enjoyed sled-dog racing, breeding dogs, raising farm animals and touring around on Sunday afternoons in Dan's welding truck and on his motorcycle. Carrol also enjoyed cooking and baking for friends and family, rescuing baby birds and raccoons, gardening and foraging for wild edible plants and mushrooms. Sadly, soon after Dan & Carrol's 25th wedding anniversary, in 1978, Dan passed away in a motorcycle accident.

In 1985, Carrol married her 2nd husband, Matthew Driggers, of Manchester, NH. They loved going to the ocean together, working at their local animal shelter, and looking for “treasures” at yard sales and auctions. Their own kitties, some from the local shelter, were very special to them both. They also worked together as real estate agents for a time and caretakers of the apartment building where they lived. Matt passed away in the fall of 2016 after 31 years of marriage to Carrol.

Carrol had a very diverse work history. At 16, she left school at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, went to California and became a bank teller by 'stretching the truth' about her age. For many years she was an army wife and stay-at-home mom, but after she was widowed, she became a waitress at the “Ramada Inn” in Concord, the “Weathervane” in Bedford and the “Bedford Village Inn”. After finally being awarded her GED, she also qualified to become a real estate agent in Manchester.

But the work that Carrol enjoyed most was her volunteer work as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. After studying the Bible in the late 1960's with friends from the Laconia congregation, she decided that she wanted to share the wonderful things that she learned with others and so became one of Jehovah's Witnesses herself in 1970. She was even able to share in her volunteer work on a full-time basis for a few years. She loved telling stories about the rewarding and fun times she had with friends while doing this fulfilling work. As her health deteriorated over the last few years, she was still able to share the Bible's hope for the future by writing letters to neighbors all over Belknap County.

Over the years, she was able to serve with several New Hampshire congregations: Laconia, North Manchester, Goffstown, East Concord, North Franklin and also in South Carolina for a brief time. She dearly loved all the friends that she had in those congregations and so much enjoyed seeing them at special events in recent years and when they visited, wrote and telephoned during her final weeks. Carrol's family wants to thank those dear friends for all of the love, joy and caring that they have given Carrol during the last 55 years and for being there for her when she needed it most. We love you!

We would also like to give special thanks to Carrol's grand-daughter, Jeni and her husband Matt, for their generous, loving care of “Grammy” and for upending their lives many times to give us respite. We also want to thank the Franklin VNA team for their wonderful hospice care and for their very kind support of our family.

Carrol's memorial service and a slide presentation of her life will be held on Saturday, April 26th, 2025 at the Franklin Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses at 36 Babbitt Rd, Franklin, NH at 2:00 PM. We hope that you will be able to join us in person but if not, the service will also be available on the internet via “Zoom”. (Meeting ID: 827 7382 8140 ; Passcode: 829713      *Please note that this ID and passcode are unique to Carrol's funeral.)

May you find comfort and hope, as we do, from the words of one of Carrol's favorite Bible passages:  “And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away. And the One seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new.” Also he says: “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”   --Revelation 21:4,5

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