Cary native, former C-G Trojans standout Rick Carone dies at 46

The Cary community lost a fighter. Cary native Rick Carone died early Thursday at age 46 after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

The Team Carone Foundation, founded by Carone in August 2014 as a way to give back to the community, announced Carone's death in a Facebook post Thursday afternoon.

“Rick was a fighter, and lover of life who helped anyone he came in contact with, and never let the disease be the definition of him,” the post read. “We will continue to spread his message to love one another and #ShutDownCancer to the best of our abilities. We will always love, and deeply miss our dear friend/brother who inspired so many.”

The former Cary-Grove baseball and football star graduated from C-G in 1989 and played baseball at Illinois State and Ole Miss. He went on to play in the White Sox's minor league system from 1993 to 1996.

Carone was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in May 2013 and was told he had about six months to live.

Carone fought for more than four years. He gave back to the community – in the form of scholarships, donations to cancer research and what he called "gifts of love" – through the Team Carone Foundation. Over the years he visited a number of major league ballparks as part of his "BP for a Cause" fundraiser, hitting batting practice with the pro ballplayers and donating money for each home run hit.

Cary-Grove baseball coach Don Sutherland recalled Carone’s athletic prowess, but noted that everything that came after that was so much more powerful.

“It starts with baseball and football, but it went so far beyond that,” Sutherland said. “These last four years, the experiences that he’s shared with so many people, they’re just so meaningful and so insightful. They showed just what a great person he was.”

Carone was an avid hunter and outdoorsman. He co-starred in the TV show “Sheep Shape” on the Sportsman Channel, which followed hunters on extreme hunting quests.

Carone had many friends in the baseball and hunting communities. Condolences poured in from Cary and beyond Thursday.

The TV series "Buck Commander" – for which Carone worked as a videographer in the past – posted to Facebook, saying: "Rick inspired so many people and will forever be remembered as a fighter. See ya' soon brother! We love you!"

San Francisco Giants pitcher Hunter Strickland posted a photo on Instagram with the caption, "I cannot begin to even explain how much this guy has meant to me and has inspired me to be a better, more Christ-like man!"

Country singer Jason Aldean, who also co-owns "Buck Commander," posted to Facebook, saying, "Prayers going out to his family. You can rest easy now my friend."

Sutherland, who has coached the Trojans baseball team since the 1988 season, said it was Carone who convinced him to apply for the position.

“I wasn’t going to apply for the baseball job at Cary-Grove and then Rick came up to me in the hall and said, ‘You’re going to coach us, aren’t you?’” Sutherland said. “I could tell the administration no, but I couldn’t tell Rick no.”

Sutherland stayed in touch with Carone through the years, even throwing him batting practice last summer before “BP for a Cause” events.

“It’s just a pleasure to have met him and coached him athletically and become a friend,” Sutherland said. “He treated everybody with such respect and kindness and motivation. All without showing the pain he’s going through himself. He just had a keen sense of how to make a person feel special.”

Carone leaves behind two daughters, Karsyn, a junior at Ole Miss, and Tyler, a senior in high school in Texas.

The wake for Rick Carone will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church at 410 N. First St. in Cary. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Carone Family Trust: BMO Harris Bank, Attn: Myron – 122 W. Main St., Cary, which is dedicated to Carone’s daughters’ education.