Dedicated educator graduated from Wakefield High

Published in the January 4, 2017 edition

PORTSMOUTH, NH – Loraine Ann Cottrell, of Portsmouth, passed away January 1, 2017.
The daughter of the late Arthur W. and Florence A. (Hawkes) Cottrell, she was born January 7, 1942 in Stoneham, MA. She attended public schools in Wakefield, graduating in 1959. She was a majority member of International Order of Rainbow, Wakefield Assembly #43 and had received the Grand Cross of Color.
She earned a B.S.Ed. majoring in Elementary Education at Gordon College, Beverly Farms, as a member of the class of 1963. In 1968 she received M.Ed in teaching reading from Salem State College.
She taught in Lovettsville, VA (1963-1966) and Wakefield, MA (1966-1967) prior to coming to New Franklin Elementary School in Portsmouth in 1967. Most of her teaching was to third graders.
She was granted a sabbatical leave for the 1975-76 school year to do a comparative education study in Australia. In Australia she was based in the Sydney area of New South Wales, and also travel to Canberra, ACT; Melbourne, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia; and to the Northern Territory. After retiring from active teaching in 2003, she volunteered at New Franklin School. She worked with second and third grade pupils in math. She enjoyed being a tour guide, walking third graders (and visiting friends) along the Harbour Trail in Portsmouth.
She was an active member of Alpha Delta Kappa, an honorary international sorority for women educators, Epsilon Chapter, and was a two term state president for New Hampshire from 1998-2002.
She was a member of The Church at Spruce Creek in Kittery, ME (formerly Central Baptist Church in Portsmouth). She sang in the choir, in special music groups, and as a soloist.
Traveling was an enjoyable activity. She often visited relatives in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, Canada. She drove a circumferencial route around the USA, through 26 states and 2 provinces of western Canada. Other places traveled were Mexico, England, Scotland and Germany.
She enjoyed many hobbies, including quilting, embroidery, knitting and numerous beading crafts, such as making jewelry and Christmas ornaments, and holiday cards. She also liked to write books, stories and poems for children (unpublished).
She is survived by numerous cousins in NH, MA, ME, NM and Canada.
A time of visitation will be held from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturday, January 14, 2017 at the J. Verne Wood Funeral Home-Buckminster Chapel, 84 Broad Street, Portsmouth. A funeral service will follow at the funeral home at 11 a.m.
Visit www.jvwoodfuneralhome.com to sign the online guest book.