ROCKLAND — Joan (De Castro) Lake, 81, beloved wife and mother of five children, passed away after a short illness on Saturday, January 26, with members of her family at her side.

Joan was born on September 14, 1937, in Rockland to the late Mary (Escorsio) and Frank DeCastro. She graduated from Rockland High School in 1955.

It was during a brief stint working in Baltimore after graduation that she met the love of her life, Charles P. Lake, of Medford, Oregon. They married on May 21, 1961, in Reno, Nevada, with his parents and sisters in attendance. They then renewed their vows in a church service with Joan’s family in Rockland on February 9, 1963. Together Joan and Charlie raised five children, Debra, Melinda, Charles Jr., James and Jeffrey.

Joan worked more than three decades as a legal secretary for Wayne Crandall in the law offices of Collins and Crandall (later Collins, Crandall, Hanscom and Pease) on School Street in Rockland.

A devout Catholic, Joan was a lifelong parishioner of St. Bernard’s Catholic Church (St. Brendan the Navigator Parish) in Rockland and rarely missed an 8 a.m., Sunday, Mass during her lifetime.

A talented knitter, Joan gifted her family with many cherished pieces of her handiwork, from sweaters and socks to scarves, hats and mittens. Joan was an avid reader, with mysteries and generational family sagas being her favorites. Above all, however, Joan loved spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren.

In addition to Charles, her husband of 57 years, Joan is survived by her five loving children and their families: Debra Blum of Bath, Maine, her husband, Michael, their three children, Haley, Jessie and Wesley; Melinda Rose and her husband, Charley, of Worthington, Massachusetts; Charles Jr. of Phoenix, Arizona; James of Panama City, Florida, and his wife, Verna, their sons James Jr. and Joshua; Jeffrey and his wife, Cathy, and son, Liam, of Rockland, and Jeffrey’s daughter, Sadie Lake, of South Thomaston.

The family would like to thank the members of the staffs at Homestead at Owls Head, the Knox Center in Rockland and the Sussman House in Rockport, for their compassionate care.

Friends and relatives are invited to visit from 5 to 7 p.m., Thursday, February 7, 2019, at Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland. A vigil prayer service will begin at 5 p.m..

A Requiem Mass will be held at 10 a.m., Friday, February 8, at St. Bernard’s Catholic Church, 150 Broadway, Rockland with The Reverend Robert Vaillancourt as Celebrant. A reception will follow Friday’s Mass at Burpee, Carpenter and Hutchins Funeral Home’s, 104 Limerock, Reception Center.

Interment will be announced in the spring.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Rockland Public Library, P.O. Box 764, Rockland, ME 04841.

To share a memory or story with Joan’s family, visit their online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.