Memorial Service for Carol Abbott on Saturday

There will be a reception at the University of Maine’s Buchanan Alumni House following a memorial service on Saturday, March 10, for Carol Abbott, who passed away on Friday. Abbott was a UMaine alumna, the wife of former University of Maine football coach and professor Walter Abbott and the mother of current UMaine athletic director Steve Abbott.

The memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. at the Orono Methodist Church. The reception will follow from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Carol Abbott graduated from UMaine in 1959 with a degree in English. While at UMaine, she met Walter Abbott, who later became an assistant football coach and then head coach.

According to an obituary in the Bangor Daily News, Carol loved her experience as a student at the University of Maine where she and Walter made many lifelong friends. At UMaine Carol was selected “Calico Queen,” and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. After graduation, in addition to raising their children, Carol worked as an elementary school teacher for 20 years.

For more than fifty years, Carol was a fixture at UMaine sporting events. At every home football game, she could be found in “Coaches’ Corner,” which became a well-known meeting area for Carol and Walter’s friends at the home football games.

In addition to Walter, Carol is survived by: their son Steven, his wife Amy, and their children Hannah and Henry, all of Portland; their son Scott and his daughter Erin of Orono and Bangor; and their daughter Sherry of Portland. Carol is also survived by her brother Peter and his wife Nadia of Rockport, Massachusetts.

Gifts may be sent to the University of Maine Foundation, Two Alumni Place, Orono, ME, 04469-5792, to benefit the Carol and Walter Abbott Scholarship Fund, which awards a scholarship to UMaine student-athletes every year.

Contact: Jessica Bloch, (207) 581-3777