BIDDEFORD – One spring-like day in the late 1970s, Carole Petrin picked up her kids from school early and drove them to Cranmore Mountain in North Conway, N.H., to go skiing.
“I remember it being a beautiful spring skiing day,” said her daughter, Joannah Lapham of Kennebunk. “When you’re given a gift like (that), you have to stop and smell the roses and enjoy your life. I thought I had the coolest mom ever.”
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Mrs. Petrin, a devoted wife and the mother of five children, who had a passion for skiing and a heck of a golf swing, died on March 2. She was 77.
She was remembered by her family Thursday as a strong, supportive and nurturing woman who had a competitive spirit and lived her life to its fullest.
In 1958, she married Robert Petrin, a dentist. They were married for 53 years. In her early years, she put her career on hold to raise their children.
Lapham said her mother always put her family first. She supported her husband’s dental practice and worked hard to keep their home in order.
As a young mother, she volunteered at her kids’ schools and often chaperoned field trips. Lapham said her mother created a nurturing and supportive environment at home, teaching her children respect for others and an appreciation for life.
“I was blessed to have her as my mother,” Lapham said. “She was kind but firm. She had a huge sense of humor. She never got angry … and we wrinkled a lot of her feathers. She took everything in stride. She never raised her voice in anger.”
In 1984, Mrs. Petrin went back to school and earned her degree in community health education from the University of Maine at Farmington. She worked for York County Community Health Services, giving flu shots and doing blood pressure screenings. After that, she taught a CNA certification class at Biddeford High School.
“She loved her work, but family was first,” her daughter said.
Mrs. Petrin had a lifelong passion for golf. She and her husband were members of the Cape Arundel Golf Club for 50 years. She was the club’s representative to the Southern Maine Women’s Golf Association for 20 years. Her daughter said she played on golf courses across the United States and in Europe.
“She would always say that her best vacations were playing golf,” Lapham said. “She liked the fresh air, the sun and the possibility of making par.”
In September of 2010, she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her daughter said she fought her illness with courage and grace. She died at home surrounded by her family.
“We had Irish music playing,” her daughter said. “It was as peaceful as it could be. We should all be so lucky as to be surrounded by that kind of love.”
Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:
mcreamer@pressherald.com
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