Taunton mother-of-six fulfills dying wish to marry boyfriend

TAUNTON — After a nearly two-year battle with stage IV breast cancer, Taunton mother-of-six Donna Carroll passed away peacefully on Sunday at the age of 30.

Her passing came moments before she said, “I do” to her longtime boyfriend in a private bedside marriage ceremony attended by her closest family and friends.

Carroll’s now-widowed husband Justin Nguyen said that there was never any doubt in his mind that he wanted to marry her, even before the diagnosis.

“All of the time I spent in my life with her was the best time we shared. I’m going to miss holding her…I’ll even miss the little fights we had sometimes,” said Nguyen, who said that the couple had completed a marriage certificate days before the ceremony.

“We had our ups and downs, but still, we were always there for each other at the end of the day.”

Along with Nguyen, Carroll is survived by her parents Sheila and Edward, her sister Kyla, and a “big old” family that includes her six children: Dwayne, 13, Nysah, 11, Leanna, 9, Mason, 7, Drake, 3, and Julian, 1 — all of whom she loved and cared for deeply, her relatives said.

Together, Nguyen and Carroll had one child, Julian.

As early as last week, Carroll’s family began to realize that she would not be with them much longer, which prompted Nguyen to help arrange for a marriage service.

“We knew it was something she wanted to do,” he said.

A local justice of the peace was able to come over to the family’s house on Friday night with a marriage certificate and asked Carroll if she was ready to get married, to which she responded, “I do.”

According Carroll’s aunt Dorothy Kelley, her niece’s health took a turn for the worse on Sunday ahead of the ceremony and she was not expected to hold on.

“Sunday came and we all knew, we could feel it. At around 3:14 (Carroll) said, ‘I’m not going to make it,’ and I said ‘Yes, yes you are,’” recounted Kelley, who said that Carroll passed away shortly before 7 p.m., after the ceremony.

“We all sat with her for hours and tried to ease any pain she was having. Leanne grabbed her hand, and (Carroll) said, ‘I love you, I’ll always love you.’”

Carroll pushed through the pain until the end of the ceremony, which Kelley believes was due to her innate desire to be surrounded by loved ones.

“She didn’t like to be alone; I think she chose that day because she was not alone,” Kelley said.

In accordance with her last wishes, Carroll’s body will be cremated and there will be a memorial service held at her parents’ home in North Dighton.

Kelley said that the service will be brief, and that the day will mostly be spent as a family get-together — something that Carroll had asked for specifically.

“It will be a day to celebrate her life,” said Kelley, who added that Carroll’s favorite song — “Dancing in the Sky,” by Dani and Lizzy — would be played.

“Her wishes were for her children not to be stuck in a stuffy funeral home, crying all day — she wanted them to enjoy themselves and didn’t want it to drag on.”

Carroll was first diagnosed with breast cancer in December of 2016, nearly two years after finding a lump and initially being misdiagnosed, Kelley said.

“She was going back and forth to the hospital accepting that it could be cancer. After awhile, she stopped going and then went again when she got pregnant,” said Kelley.

“We took her to Dana Farber assuming that they would say cancer, but (the news) still hit like a brick.”

After her diagnosis, Carroll underwent chemotherapy for a year that initially helped, but soon after proved to be ineffective.

“She cried more about the chemo than when she first heard about the cancer because she loved her hair, but when she asked us to shave her head, she didn’t shed a tear,” Kelley said.

In November of 2017, Carroll’s doctor said that the cancer had progressed and estimated she had only two to three months left to live, Kelley said.

Carroll made it nearly nine months, and according to Nguyen, had a great Christmas in spite of the diagnosis.

As a stay-at-home mother, Carroll, born on September 16, 1987, spent most of her life caring for her children; she had her first child while attending Taunton High School at the age of 17, graduating a year after.

“She was a mother of six, and one hell of a fighter in every way, shape, and form. That’s who she was; like a lot of people, she wanted a lot of things, and wasn’t afraid to go out and get them,” said Kelley.

“She took care of everyone around her and then we took care of her. Of course, she didn’t want it that way in the end.”

Nguyen said that he first met Carroll seven years ago, shortly before he went off to serve a three-and-a-half year prison sentence.

The two first started dating four-and-a-half years ago after his release and eventually became “inseparable,” according to Kelley, and Nguyen began working to help support Carroll and her children.

“On the first day I got out, I really started talking to her and she helped me get back on my feet. I would probably be back on the streets if it wasn’t for Donna,” said Nguyen.

“I’m pretty lazy sometimes, but with her, she always made me determined to set my goals and achieve them.”

During their time together, Nguyen said that he and Carroll enjoyed doing arts and crafts with the children, although she also enjoyed freestyle sketching and coloring as hobbies.

“She liked to make a mess and tear paper up as a kid — that’s how we knew she would be so crafty,” said Kelley.

Carroll also enjoyed shopping — particularly for her children.

One year, Nguyen said that he wanted to give Carroll some time off from the stresses of parenting and took her to Coco Key Water Resort for a much-needed vacation.

“Nobody could have done a better job with her than he could,” Kelley said in reference to Nguyen.

Nguyen said that Carroll’s oldest children — Dwayne and Nysah — were the most affected by her death on Sunday, unlike her youngest who did not fully understand what had happened.

At the time, Nguyen said that he was taken aback when Dwayne — then visibly upset — came up to him and said, “Justin, I want to thank you for being there for my mom and taking care of her.”

“He took it the hardest,” said Nguyen.

As a testament to the support that Carroll received after she received the life-changing diagnosis, Kelley said that many of her friends from Kelley's hometown in California who donated for a fundraiser had never met Carroll.

“They didn’t know her, but they knew the story,” she said.

“Breast cancer is common, but for some reason, her story really touched people.”