BRUNSWICK – Lucretia Libby McDine passed away peacefully on Sept. 21, 2019 after her long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was in her own home and surrounded by loving family.

Lucretia was born Lucretia Ann Libby on Nov. 15, 1941 to Carl and Gladys (nee Keith) Libby of Pownal. She was the oldest of their three children, having one sister and one brother. She attended a one room school house, with her grandmother as the teacher, until the family moved to Freeport. Lucretia graduated from Freeport High School and then the University of Southern Maine, where she majored in English. She was a carhop at Ernie’s Drive-In and attending college when mutual friends introduced her to a young Navy man, Thomas McDine, from Pittsburgh, Pa. Lucretia and Tom had an immediate, strong attraction and were married within two years. She graduated college and prepared to relocate to where ever her husband was stationed next.

Tom and Lucretia were married on August 24, 1963. Shortly after their wedding, the Navy sent them to Norfolk, Va. Lucretia started her career working for the Virginian Pilot as a reporter. She found the pace of a newsroom to be fun and exciting, and became an editor for several papers and an award winning journalist. Over the course of her career, she worked for the Miami Herald (FL), Providence Sun Journal (RI), The Daily Press (Newport News, VA) and The Times Record in Brunswick, Maine. While she made an impact in every place that she worked, it was her 20 plus years at The Times Record that left the biggest impression on her children.

Lucretia and Tom are the proud parents of two girls. Rebecca was born in 1970, while they were stationed in Key West. Karen arrived in 1972, when the family was stationed in Rhode Island. As children, the girls were familiar figures in the Times Record news room. This gave Lucretia an idea to get more kids involved with reading and responding to newspapers. She started a column called Kidding Around, just for kids under 12 years old. It published a question each week and then published children’s drawings and written answers the following week. The column ran many years in the Living and Leisure section and was enjoyed by kids and their parents.

In addition to her career, Lucretia had many other interests. She was a Brownie Girl Scout leader, a 4-H mother, a gardener and traveler. She instilled a love of reading in her children and grandchildren and brought at least two generations to an absolute adoration of Anne of Green Gables, and anything by Jane Austen. When her children were in school, her house was one of the ones where all the kids wanted to hang out. That trend continued with her granddaughter.

Lucretia traveled with her husband on business trips, seeing Hawaii, Texas and other places. After they retired, they took cruises to Alaska, as well as several Caribbean islands. When the kids were young, there were trips to Disney World, Quebec, the Bahamas and yearly camping trips to Hermit Island. She always told us to never stop learning and to always follow our dreams.

Lucretia is survived by her husband of 56 years, Thomas McDine; her daughters, Rebecca Mitchell and Karen McDine and son-in-law, Warren Mitchell, all of Brunswick; her sister, Karla Reindinger, of Pennsylvania; granddaughters, Alexis Mitchell, Kasandra Mitchell and Brianna Mitchell; nieces, Rebecca Bradford of Colorado, Lisa Milot of Georgia and nephews Bob Milot of Pennsylvaia and Eric McDine with wife Beth and daughter Victoria of Florida; sister by choice, Christine Laich and her husband Tom of Wisconsin; daughter by choice, Daphne Wentzell, her husband Michael and their children Robert and Mackenzie; numerous cousins in and out of Maine.

She was predeceased by her parents and her brother.

A service will be held at Brackett Funeral Home in Brunswick on Oct. 6, 2019 at 2 p.m. A celebration of life gathering will follow at The Brunswick Hotel, with doors opening at 3 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family is also going to place a memorial bench on the walking path in Brunswick. Donations for the bench may be made to Tom McDine and it will be ordered and placed near the river. Donations may also be made in Lucretia’s name to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Research 

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