Carol Ann Peter (née Philbrook) was born in Rockland, Maine, to parents Roland and Mary on March 25, 1943. On her thirty-third birthday, in 1976, she married her beloved husband, Rev. James (Jim) Peter, with whom she would spend the next 49 years. Their blended family included four children: Christopher Hall; Kelly Hall (grandchildren Michael, Dominic, Joycelyn, and Jada); Brian Peter; and Karen Klehr.

As a child, Carol spent much time babysitting, attending church, and singing in its choir, having taught herself to play piano. During her senior year in high school she was the local Fish Festival beauty pageant winner. After earning a Bachelor’s degree at Gordon College in Beverly, Massachusetts, where she continued musical performance as a vocalist, she later became a social worker. For 20 years she served those with serious mental illness, prisoners, and nursing home residents in various roles, in Mississippi and Ohio, with such work reflecting her profound streak of empathy and commitment to public service. An avid lifelong learner, Carol knew she wanted to expand her impact and reach, so she returned to school in her early 40’s. She attended Bowling Green University full-time while juggling her family and a very active church life, simultaneously supporting Jim’s parish by playing piano and singing in the choir or as a soloist. After earning a Master’s in College Student Personnel, she was immediately hired by Lorain Community College as an Academic Student Advisor. She thoroughly enjoyed her second career as it allowed her to utilize her immense people skills, helping diverse students through their early learning and life journeys.

Carol was a perfectionist who took utmost pride in everything she did, from supporting Jim and the churches he pastored, to raising her children -- one of whom would pursue a public health career via medical school and the other, a lifetime technical career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), retiring just two months before Carol’s untimely passing. She also was an RV enthusiast, avid baker, amateur bird watcher, and devoted caretaker of multiple cherished pets throughout her life, notably Lady, Chelsea, Misty, Maggie, Midnight, Hnujai and most recently her son’s beloved rescued French Bulldog, Diggy.

Family was especially important to Carol, and she was particularly proud of her father Roland, a U.S. Army veteran and according to her, the kindest man she ever knew. Later in life she was online savvy, and she stayed connected to family and friends through frequent emails, texts, by phone, or by visits for desert or when neighbors and friends would see her in the garage and stop by to chat. In retirement, she might read a book in a single day, compulsively completing Wordle and other puzzles each morning, her insatiable knowledge and wit marking her passionate conversations and storytelling. She consistently expressed deep concern about the welfare of others -- known and unknown to her, especially those less fortunate -- and lamented what she saw as recent-day departures from decorum, tolerance, and mutual respect for one another’s views and individual life choices.

Carol’s greatest pride was being a devoted wife to Jim, while also a mother, a grandmother, and a caretaker in general. As a mother she instilled the importance of exhibiting kindness and compassion towards others, always helping a friend or neighbor in need, while remaining true to one’s individualism and community.

She is survived by her loving spouse Jim, her sons, daughters, and grandchildren, along with her brother Neil Philbrook and his wife Cheryl, and her cousin Alice, among other extended relatives.

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