ROCKPORT — Carolyn Ann Burge England, 65, died unexpectedly March 31, 2014, following a brief illness.

She was born Oct. 28, 1948, in Martinsville, Va., to Walter Stanley and Alice Christenia Hall Burge Jr. of Rich Acres, Va. Carolyn earned her Bachelor of Arts in home economics at Concord College in W. Va., and then a master’s degree in elementary education at the University of Virginia. She was teaching in the Martinsville school system; where she also coached basketball, when she met the love of her life, John Walter England III. They were married in September 1979 in Stamford, Conn., aboard the yacht Whitehawk.

John and Carolyn moved to South Bristol, Maine, in 1979, beginning a pattern of following John's shipbuilding work, and Carolyn taught in the South Bristol elementary school system. More boat projects prompted additional moves, first to Kill Devil Hills, N.C., in 1982 and then to Burgess, Va., in 1984. These years may have been when Carolyn honed her exceptional organizational skills, and perfected her fruit pies, especially apple and peach (North meets South), which were legendary. Never a procrastinator, Carolyn kept an ongoing calendar of important dates, events, coupons, lists and deadlines, which will no doubt be of ongoing help and amusement to John.

In 1985, John and Carolyn's beloved daughter, Suzanne Brooke England, was born in Kilmamock, Va. The family moved back to Maine in 1987. At that time, John made a solemn promise to his southern-born wife that for every snow after April 1, she could send in an additional seed or bulb order to her favorite plant nursery. Carolyn's friends can attest to the readiness of those mail orders, at the first snowflake, and the beauty of her flowerbeds. Once Suzanne started school, Carolyn resumed her teaching, working from 1991 onward in the Rockland School Administrative District 5 as a substitute teacher, and more recently, in RSU 13 as an educational technician. Her fellow teachers and many students will greatly miss “Mrs. England's” patience and devotion to teaching math and reading.

As in any good marriage of 34 years, new pursuits became shared pastimes. Carolyn attended many launchings and was honored to christen the W-46, Zebra, in 2000. For the past three years she accompanied Rockport Marine's contingent to the Antigua Classic Races, where her kitchen skills and southern grace helped immeasurably with provisioning, feeding the crew and as hostess for company public relations events. Under the circumstances, it was only fitting that she also gained an appreciation for rum punch. Other favorite leisure activities included camping trips with John to Moosehead Lake and annual mother-daughter weekends in Washington, D.C.

Carolyn is survived by her husband, John of Rockport; her daughter, Suzanne of Washington, D.C.; her brother, Jerry Burge and his wife, Debra, of Bassett, Va.; her paternal aunt, Gladys Blankenship of Martinsville, Va.; her father-in-law, John Walter England Jr. and his wife, Claudine, of Burgess, Va.; her brothers-in-law, William England and his wife, Sue, of Baltimore, Md., and Thomas England and his wife, Rebecca, of Dublin, Va.; as well as many nieces and a nephew, all well-loved.

In lieu of flowers and in memory of Carolyn's favorite Siamese cats, Susie and English, donations may be made to the Rockland Animal Hospital, 355 Old County Road, Rockland, ME 04841.

A celebration of the life of Carolyn England will be held Saturday, April 5 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St. in Rockland.