GORHAM - Carol Fisher Curran was born on Jan. 23, 1950. She passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack in her sleep on Feb. 11, 2019, just after her 69th birthday.
Carol met her husband Al on a blind date in 1970 and they enjoyed their life together for the next 49 years. They have three children - Rachelle, Sally and Nilaya - and one of Carol's greatest joys was talking regularly with her daughters. She delighted in the birth of each of her five grandchildren: Tobin, Mara, Poppy, Theo and Silvio. Carol was thrilled to see each of them becoming such unique human beings. Grandparenting together with Al had become her primary focus and she spent time every day with one or more of her grandchildren.
Carol was always full of life and she made it her life intention to spread joy and love. Her smile and laugh were infectious. She would regularly say, "I have a lovely life and I am so grateful for it." Carol loved maintaining and nurturing her many friendships, many of which had lasted the full 40 years she lived in Gorham. Carol believed strongly in treating all people with respect, was a compassionate listener, and had a remarkable way of drawing stories out of people.
Carol always made time for play with her friends and family; her favorite games were wallyball, golf and bridge. She could play card and board games for hours, and enjoyed some healthy competition. Favorite games included Bridge, Bohnanza, Pounce and Ticket to Ride.
Carol and Al loved Maine, the White Mountains, and exploring in nature. They enjoyed walking on the beach at Pine Point, cross country skiing in the Mt Washington Valley, walking on Mackworth Island, riding bikes on the Sebago to the Sea Rail Trail, swimming and kayaking at No Name Pond, and watching the sunset.
Spirituality was central in Carol's life. It was grounded in a deep belief that all things are connected in love, and this was her guiding force. Carol completed her Doctorate in Psychology. In her career as a psychotherapist, as a mother, and as a friend she was always reminding people to look inside of themselves and believe that the answers were there within.
Carol loved the arts and expressed it through gardening and painting. She created gorgeous flower gardens and painted bright watercolors of nature. She also loved playing music and taking photographs.
Carol was a voracious reader and read every book her friends gave to her (by the bagful). She shared her joy of reading with her kids and grandchildren, spending hundreds of hours reading to them. They would crawl into her lap, sometimes three at once, and all snuggle in for stories.
She will be deeply missed by all of her family including husband Al Curran, sisters Bethann Fisher and Martha Fisher of Gorham; daughter Rachelle Curran Apse, her husband Colin Apse and their two children Tobin and Mara of Portland; daughter Sal Curran, her wife Fabiola Ortiz Valdez and child Silvio of Syracuse, N.Y.; daughter Nilaya Palmer, her husband James Palmer and children Poppy and Theo of Gorham. Carol is leaving a huge hole in the hearts of all of us that loved her.
As she would have wanted, the family will host a celebration of her life for her friends and friends of the family on Saturday, Feb. 16, at 1 p.m. at Spire 29 in Gorham. To honor her we ask everyone to wear her favorite spring colors.
In lieu of flowers please send donations to the:
Sebago to the Sea Rail Trail Project at the
Presumpscot Regional
Land Trust
P.O. Box 33
Gorham, ME 04038
one of Carol and Al's favorite bike trails.
A bench will be placed along the bike trail
in her honor
Published in Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on Feb. 14, 2019
