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Obituary for Dennis Carroll
14th Jul 2009
obituary
Dennis Carroll, 25 May 1946-10 June 2009
Dennis Carroll first burst into my life in the late 1980s when he joined the executive and finance committee of the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF), of which I was also a member.
His enthusiasm and dedication was infectious, and over the next few years he took the lead in developing the educational resource sales and leaflet range of the Foundation, bringing his knowledge of sales to the dental profession as dental manager of 3M dental to the table.
Never one to do things by halves, when Dennis felt that commitments to the British Dental Trade Association (BDTA) as a council member would detract from his work with the Foundation, he left the Foundation committees in 1993, but always remained a staunch advocate and a great supporter.
His legendary energy and enthusiasm was given for many years to the BDTA where he rapidly attained high office and was elected president in 1994. Here, he rejuvenated and reshaped the organisation, making it more inclusive and responsive and, by exerting his personal charm and magnetism, increased the membership during his presidency.
Breaking with tradition and unwilling to lose his talents, the BDTA members voted to extend his presidency for a further year and he continued to serve continuously on BDTA Council until 2004 when he retired from the dental industry. On his retirement he was elected to the BDTA roll of honour, an award reserved for very few exceptional people and a distinction of which he was very proud.
Not content with his great impact within the UK dental industry, Dennis also served as the representative of the BDTA in Europe on both FIDE and ADE where his charm and enthusiasm endeared him to colleagues from across Europe. Although he spoke no other languages, he was always able to communicate with his colleagues using his measured and clear approach.
Dennis was instrumental in developing the collection and distribution of dental market data across Europe, no mean feat when this involved sharing sensitive commercial information. He continued to fulfill this role after his retirement and it was at a press conference to launch the latest set of data in Cologne in March that I last saw Dennis. His performance as always was accomplished and entirely without notes.
Dennis was persuaded to rejoin the Trustee Board of the BDHF in 1998 and continued to provide his wise counsel until his untimely demise. He was instrumental in helping to guide the transition from a hands-on Board of Trustee to a true Governance body. He was elected president in 2006 in which role he served for two years. His passion for dentistry and for the Foundation was obvious to all who met him.
Dennis' impact at the Foundation in his years as a trustee cannot be overstated. He was energetic and focused throughout the most recent years of the growth of the foundation and many people will recall his impassioned speeches at the launches of both National Smile Month and Mouth Cancer Awareness campaigns at the House of Commons.
Few could match Dennis's commitment to the cause and he was a regular visitor to the Foundation's head offices in Rugby. A telephone call would often be Dennis enquiring after the health of a staff member or simply thanking staff for their efforts. Dennis's aversion to email was legendary – so there was a steady stream of printed emails being sent to his home by post.
As an active member of the Foundation Trustee board, Dennis fought for the best interests of oral health promotion and was a passionate advocate for the Foundation at any event he attended.
In his private life he had a passion for wildlife photography, the countryside and birds. He would often arrive at Board meetings with pictures from his most recent wildlife photography trip, most notably to India to photograph wild tigers. He fulfilled a lifetime ambition of moving to Scotland where he could indulge this love of nature and could be seen binoculars in one hand and glass of red wine in the other observing the wildlife in his surroundings.
Unfortunately this sojourn in Scotland was to be short lived and Dennis was taken ill and rushed to hospital in April. Whilst he fought bravely to recover, this was not to be.
Dennis will be missed not only for his sense of humour, his wry smile and his passion for a cause, but also for the loyalty he repeatedly demonstrated to any cause or individual in which he had faith and belief.
Our sympathy goes to his partner Kath, who he always referred to as his ‘young lady', his children Nicky and Paul and his grandchildren.
Dennis will be missed by many, but I for one have lost a valued colleague, mentor and friend.
Author
Nigel Carter
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