Carol Marie Paramoure

Carol Marie (Meekins) Paramoure

Passed away peacefully in her sleep on March 28, at home, in Soquel, California, at the age of 86 years. Born in Boston Massachusetts on October 1, 1939, the second of four children (John, 2 years older and twins, George and Elsa, 2 years younger) born to Donald Fred and Signe Margaretta Johanna (Bjork) Meekins, Carol lived in Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford Connecticut in her earliest years, before moving to Foxboro, Massachusetts, at the age of 4. Growing up on Central Street, north of Spring Street, she attended Foxboro Public Schools throughout and graduated from Foxboro High School with the Class of 1957, when she was elected Class Bookworm. She had an interest in English and thought about becoming a teacher or a writer. Carol met Richard (Dick) Paramoure during their Junior year and they married after graduation. Richard joined the Air Force and the young couple moved to Denver, Colorado, where Margaret Susan (Peggy) was born in early 1958. After being transferred to the Dallas / Fort Worth area, they added a son, Phillip Christopher (Chris), to their growing family in late 1959. After Dick was discharged from the Air Force in 1960, Carol and the kids returned to Foxboro, living with her parents. Dick reunited with his family when he returned from Kansas in 1961. Warren Kerry (Kerry) was born in 1962, and Patricia Leigh (Pat) came in early 1965.

After living in Mansfield for a couple of years in the early 1960s, and Northampton, Massachusetts, for a short while in 1965,  Carol kept the family in Foxboro, living on East Street, then Central Street near her parents, and finally buying a house on Bailey Street, in Sears Estates, a subdivision in the southeastern part of town, where the family formed many long-term friendships. The youngest (Pat) graduated from Foxboro High School in 1983. Carol worked at various jobs in Foxboro, including at the High School Media Center, at the Tax Assessor’s Office, at the Boyden Library, at Brooks Drug Store in Foxfield Plaza, and at Simply Sportswear located at the Route 140 Plaza at Central Street. Carol and Richard separated in 1978 and eventually divorced in 1984. Having married very young, after her children went off to college or started careers, Carol had time to devote to herself, and she enjoyed playing her organ, reading the books in her extensive library, expanding her wardrobe, growing many plants at her home, and travelling to visit her children and grandchildren, who at one time were scattered along the west coast, from southern California to northern Washington. She fondly remembered taking the Coast Starlight Amtrak Train from San Diego to Seattle. She also loved the cruise she took to Alaska with daughter, Pat, and Pat’s two children.

Carol retired at the age of 60, and a couple of years later, she decided to get away from the New England weather and the responsibilities of taking care of a big home with a large yard. She took on the project of fixing up and modernizing her house before selling it. Then she moved west to be near her children and grandchildren, living with Pat and her family, near Santa Cruz, California, on the north side of Monterey Bay. Carol traveled often to see Peggy near Albuquerque and her sons, Chris and Kerry, in Central and Southern California, in New Mexico, and back in Massachusetts.

She loved living in California, visiting the ocean often, about a mile away, and seeing the beautiful year-round green plants and colorful flowers. She liked to walk around the neighborhood and admire the neighbors’ gardens. She assisted Pat extensively during her return to school to study for her Master’s Degree in Cultural Resources Management, editing papers, helping with her thesis, and keeping things in line at home while Pat was away. Carol continued to read and to play her organ until a couple of years before she passed, when her health began to decline.

Carol is survived by her three siblings, John (Ann) Meekins of Springfield, Virginia, George (Peg) Meekins of Plainville, Massachusetts, and Elsa (Tom) Apetz of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Her Ex-husband, Richard, lives in Fall River, Massachusetts. And her daughter Peggy (Ron) of Sandia Park, New Mexico, son Chris of Salt Lake City, Utah, son Kerry of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and daughter Pat (Mike) of Soquel, California. Her foster son, Jeff Vigeant, of Mansfield, will miss her dearly, too. She leaves her grandchildren, Cassie and Andrew Boyd, and Nick, Janelle, Luke, and Sam Paramoure. She had one great-grandchild, Akasha, age 4. She also leaves many nieces and nephews, and their children, along with friends near and far, especially those she met through her kids. She was predeceased by her granddaughter, Heather Wood.

Carol loved reading, music, watching Jeopardy, butterflies, orchids, dark chocolate, and lobster.

She was a dear, sweet lady. She gave the best hugs!