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June 6, 2026
Services
Family and friends are invited to celebrate Carol's life at a visitation on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from 3:00 to 7:00 PM at O’Briens Funeral Home located at 2028 Highway 35, Wall Township, NJ 07719.
Caroline "Carol" Lawrence, 85, passed away peacefully on June 6, 2026, in Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey, as close to the ocean she loved as she could be, surrounded by her beloved husband and children. Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Carol was a woman ahead of her time, someone who moved through the world with intelligence, warmth, and an extraordinary ability to make everyone around her feel seen, celebrated, and loved.
Before starting her own family, Carol was the only girl among her three brothers, and she kept them all in check, a role that seemed to come naturally and never really ceased. Raised with that same quiet strength, Carol carved out her own path, creating opportunities for herself and her children to pursue anything they dreamed of. That spirit remained with her throughout her life.
Carol met the love of her life, Gerald "Jerry" Lawrence at Nick’s 3 Vets, on Route 23 in Wayne, and together they built something remarkable. Married for 61 years, they raised five incredible children, David, Pamela, Jeralyn, Cindy, and Mark, in Wayne, New Jersey, where Carol became a fixture in the community and in the local public school district. Carol was an avid volunteer, and she never liked to be idle. She was often found at the nursery tending to flowers, running the Wayne PTO Browse and Consignment Shop, a member of the Wayne PAL Women’s Auxiliary Club or on the Wayne Hills High School Parent Booster club. She is infamous with her Patriots foam number 1 finger and gaining support for the school, teams and community. Carol was also a softball coach for Wayne Parks and Recreation and a soccer coach for Wayne PAL where she was a big supporter of the program. When her daughters had to play on the boys’ soccer team because there was not a girls’ program, Carol decided to start and was the founder of the girls’ soccer program. As the town’s favorite school bus driver because she decorated her bus or gave out prizes from the famous “prize box” to the most well behaved children on the bus and a tireless volunteer, as well as a regular at Annunciation Church, the YMHA and the Wayne ELKS she was so deeply woven into the fabric of the Wayne community that she was affectionately known as its "unofficial mayor”.
Carol was an avid skier, and her favorite mountain was Vernon Valley where she also chaperoned the junior high students in the Wayne Parks and Recreation ski program. Heavenly Valley was her favorite ski area out west.
But Carol’s greatest happiness was being a mother. She and Jerry embraced the wonderful chaos of raising five children with all their hearts. Life with David, Pamela, Jeralyn, Cindy, and Mark was an adventure filled with noise, love, and joy. Whether they were sailing on their sailboats or driving in their family’s motor home, the family traveled the country together, but the real adventure was the everyday moments—the noise, the laughter, the memories piled on top of each other. It was beautiful chaos, and Carol wouldn’t have it any other way.
Carol was everyone's biggest cheerleader, and she made sure you knew it. Whether it was a sporting event, a school talent show, or a milestone at work, Carol was a face in the crowd, cowbell in hand, making sure you felt celebrated and seen. She never forgot a birthday, a big moment, or a single chance to cheer someone on. That spirit extended fully to her grandchildren, all 21 of them, who she was endlessly and openly proud of.
Much like the dolphins she adored, Carol was remarkably intelligent, deeply connected to her family, and most at home near the water. In retirement, she and Jerry made Belmar, New Jersey their full-time home, where Carol could be found walking the shoreline in search of seashells and sea glass or swimming in the waters she loved; she remained active, playing tennis, golf, bowling, and pickleball long before it became a national obsession; yet another reminder that Carol was always ahead of the curve. In addition to her love of the beach, she took great pride in planting her flowers each year in her front garden next to her favorite decorative lighthouse and dolphin statue. But her very favorite thing of all was hosting her children and grandchildren at the beach, laughing and swimming all day, followed by everyone gathered around the dinner table. Having her family together made her happiest. Oftentimes, her time spent with her niece and nephew and her grandchildren were her teaching them how to make spitballs, challenge them in spaghetti slurping races, bubble blowing contests or how to make the biggest bubble with their gum. Carol continued the same relentless commitment she showed in Wayne to Belmar. She was a member of the Belmar Women’s Club, Manasquan Elks, and a member of the Belmar CERT team. If there was a need to volunteer, odds are Carol volunteered there as the list is too numerous to mention.
Carol had a gift for making every single person around her feel at home and welcome. She leaves behind a legacy built not on what she accumulated, but on what she gave, her time, her presence, and her heart. In every grandchild who knows they are loved, in every birthday that was never forgotten, in every moment someone felt truly seen and cheered on, Carol lives on.
Carol is survived by her husband and the love of her life, Jerry; her five children and spouses and twenty-one grandchildren, David Lawrence & Nancy Pearson (Kali (Nick Froio), Emily & David), Pamela & Joe Martin (Jade Tyler, Kaley & Samanatha), Jeralyn Lawrence & John Benvenuto (Karly, Leah, Kyle, Carson, Abigail, Ameila & Lawson),Cindy & Ben Contella (Ben & Cassandra), and Mark & Timarie Lawrence (Erica, Olivia, Annika, Mark Patrick & Christian); one great-granddaughter, Mara, and one nephew, Douglas (Miranda), and one niece, Danielle (Eric Parker) and one grandnephew, Mikolai and grandniece, Makena. She was preceded in death by her parents, Sonia and Edward Dudek, and her beloved three brothers, Robert (Joni), Edward (Barbara), and Joseph (Doris) Dudek.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to The Wounded Warrior (Wounded Warrior Project - Donate), a cause close to Carol's heart.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Family and friends are invited to celebrate Carol's life at a visitation on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from 3:00 to 7:00 PM at O’Briens Funeral Home located at 2028 Highway 35, Wall Township, NJ 07719.
June 6, 2026
Services
Family and friends are invited to celebrate Carol's life at a visitation on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, from 3:00 to 7:00 PM at O’Briens Funeral Home located at 2028 Highway 35, Wall Township, NJ 07719.
Caroline "Carol" Lawrence, 85, passed away peacefully on June 6, 2026, in Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey, as close to the ocean she loved as she could be, surrounded by her beloved husband and children. Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Carol was a woman ahead of her time, someone who moved through the world with intelligence, warmth, and an extraordinary ability to make everyone around her feel seen, celebrated, and loved.
Before starting her own family, Carol was the only girl among her three brothers, and she kept them all in check, a role that seemed to come naturally and never really ceased. Raised with that same quiet strength, Carol carved out her own path, creating opportunities for herself and her children to pursue anything they dreamed of. That spirit remained with her throughout her life.
Carol met the love of her life, Gerald "Jerry" Lawrence at Nick’s 3 Vets, on Route 23 in Wayne, and together they built something remarkable. Married for 61 years, they raised five incredible children, David, Pamela, Jeralyn, Cindy, and Mark, in Wayne, New Jersey, where Carol became a fixture in the community and in the local public school district. Carol was an avid volunteer, and she never liked to be idle. She was often found at the nursery tending to flowers, running the Wayne PTO Browse and Consignment Shop, a member of the Wayne PAL Women’s Auxiliary Club or on the Wayne Hills High School Parent Booster club. She is infamous with her Patriots foam number 1 finger and gaining support for the school, teams and community. Carol was also a softball coach for Wayne Parks and Recreation and a soccer coach for Wayne PAL where she was a big supporter of the program. When her daughters had to play on the boys’ soccer team because there was not a girls’ program, Carol decided to start and was the founder of the girls’ soccer program. As the town’s favorite school bus driver because she decorated her bus or gave out prizes from the famous “prize box” to the most well behaved children on the bus and a tireless volunteer, as well as a regular at Annunciation Church, the YMHA and the Wayne ELKS she was so deeply woven into the fabric of the Wayne community that she was affectionately known as its "unofficial mayor”.
Carol was an avid skier, and her favorite mountain was Vernon Valley where she also chaperoned the junior high students in the Wayne Parks and Recreation ski program. Heavenly Valley was her favorite ski area out west.
But Carol’s greatest happiness was being a mother. She and Jerry embraced the wonderful chaos of raising five children with all their hearts. Life with David, Pamela, Jeralyn, Cindy, and Mark was an adventure filled with noise, love, and joy. Whether they were sailing on their sailboats or driving in their family’s motor home, the family traveled the country together, but the real adventure was the everyday moments—the noise, the laughter, the memories piled on top of each other. It was beautiful chaos, and Carol wouldn’t have it any other way.
Carol was everyone's biggest cheerleader, and she made sure you knew it. Whether it was a sporting event, a school talent show, or a milestone at work, Carol was a face in the crowd, cowbell in hand, making sure you felt celebrated and seen. She never forgot a birthday, a big moment, or a single chance to cheer someone on. That spirit extended fully to her grandchildren, all 21 of them, who she was endlessly and openly proud of.
Much like the dolphins she adored, Carol was remarkably intelligent, deeply connected to her family, and most at home near the water. In retirement, she and Jerry made Belmar, New Jersey their full-time home, where Carol could be found walking the shoreline in search of seashells and sea glass or swimming in the waters she loved; she remained active, playing tennis, golf, bowling, and pickleball long before it became a national obsession; yet another reminder that Carol was always ahead of the curve. In addition to her love of the beach, she took great pride in planting her flowers each year in her front garden next to her favorite decorative lighthouse and dolphin statue. But her very favorite thing of all was hosting her children and grandchildren at the beach, laughing and swimming all day, followed by everyone gathered around the dinner table. Having her family together made her happiest. Oftentimes, her time spent with her niece and nephew and her grandchildren were her teaching them how to make spitballs, challenge them in spaghetti slurping races, bubble blowing contests or how to make the biggest bubble with their gum. Carol continued the same relentless commitment she showed in Wayne to Belmar. She was a member of the Belmar Women’s Club, Manasquan Elks, and a member of the Belmar CERT team. If there was a need to volunteer, odds are Carol volunteered there as the list is too numerous to mention.
Carol had a gift for making every single person around her feel at home and welcome. She leaves behind a legacy built not on what she accumulated, but on what she gave, her time, her presence, and her heart. In every grandchild who knows they are loved, in every birthday that was never forgotten, in every moment someone felt truly seen and cheered on, Carol lives on.
Carol is survived by her husband and the love of her life, Jerry; her five children and spouses and twenty-one grandchildren, David Lawrence & Nancy Pearson (Kali (Nick Froio), Emily & David), Pamela & Joe Martin (Jade Tyler, Kaley & Samanatha), Jeralyn Lawrence & John Benvenuto (Karly, Leah, Kyle, Carson, Abigail, Ameila & Lawson),Cindy & Ben Contella (Ben & Cassandra), and Mark & Timarie Lawrence (Erica, Olivia, Annika, Mark Patrick & Christian); one great-granddaughter, Mara, and one nephew, Douglas (Miranda), and one niece, Danielle (Eric Parker) and one grandnephew, Mikolai and grandniece, Makena. She was preceded in death by her parents, Sonia and Edward Dudek, and her beloved three brothers, Robert (Joni), Edward (Barbara), and Joseph (Doris) Dudek.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions be made to The Wounded Warrior (Wounded Warrior Project - Donate), a cause close to Carol's heart.
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