As principal of Mast Landing School in Freeport, Beth Willhoite started her day at 5:30 a.m., arrived at school before everyone else, came home at the end of the day to walk the dog, and headed back out to a night of school-related meetings, fitting a workout at the YMCA somewhere in between.
Rather than collapse into a lawn chair during the summer break, Mrs. Willhoite would tend to her massive flower and vegetable gardens, which bloomed and ripened like an orchestrated masterpiece, her family said.
“She was an extremely high-energy person, a doer, a go-getter with the most incredible work ethic I have ever known,” her son, Peter, said Saturday.
Mrs. Willhoite, 63, who died Thursday after a nearly yearlong fight with pancreatic cancer, left behind a close-knit family and several large circles of friends and colleagues.
They said she lived a wonderful life, finding great joy both at home in Freeport and out in the world. She hiked, biked, boated and skied. She was often spotted walking in Freeport with a flock of friends, all of them talking nonstop as they made their way through a local park.
“We would meet at a friend’s house and it was kind of comical. Beth was so athletic and fit. We would all drive there. Beth would bike,” said a longtime friend, Carol Hudson.
Hudson met Mrs. Willhoite 30 years ago when their children, the same ages, were toddlers. Hudson described her as beautiful, strong and caring.
“We had this invisible bond. We knew what each other was thinking. We are going to miss her so much,” said Hudson.
Mrs. Willhoite grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts, and was a graduate of Bates College in Lewiston. In addition to their son, she and her husband, John Willhoite, a copy editor and page designer at the Portland Press Herald, were the parents of a daughter, Sarah.
When the couple settled in the Norway area in the 1970s, Mrs. Willhoite was one of those who introduced jogging as a form of exercise to rural Maine.
“It was not something people did yet in the cold regions of western Maine,” said her son.
He said his mother got it just right as a parent.
“She had so much love for my sister and me and all of our friends,” said Peter.
He said his mother was a leader and integral part of a group of mothers “who collectively raised my friends and me. She was funny, not terribly strict, but you knew what she wanted,” said Peter.
Mrs. Willhoite served as principal right up until the final months of the 2015-2016 school year. Her colleagues said she was immediately missed.
“She meant so much to so many people. She was a great leader and incredible with the kids,” said Ray Grogan, a fellow principal in the Freeport public schools.
Grogan said Mrs. Willhoite was his mentor when he was a young principal.
“She connected with people at all levels,” he said.
Susan Martling, a teacher at the Mast Landing School, knew Mrs. Willhoite as a colleague, boss and friend.
“She guided the Mast Landing School through a lot of changes with wisdom,” said Martling.
She said after Mrs. Willhoite left it became clear how much work she quietly shouldered.
“The things she was doing that were unseen became apparent. We realized how much she did. I adored her,” said Martling.
A memorial service for Mrs. Willhoite will be held at 3 p.m. Jan. 21 at the Freeport Performing Arts Center. A celebration of her life will follow at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant in Yarmouth.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
