CUMBERLAND – Christine N. Allanach, 88, of South Portland, loving mother and grandmother, died peacefully Wednesday, Nov. 3, at her daughter Denise’s and son-in-law’s home in Cumberland.

She was born Dec. 13, 1915, in Fairfield, the daughter of the late Elwood and Bertha Roundy Norris. She was a cousin to the late Gov. Burton M. Cross. She graduated from Lawrence High School in 1933, where she played basketball.

She married the late Harry D. Allanach, who she met at Pinewood Camp in Canton.

For 10 years, she was captain of the United Way Fund in Ferry Village, volunteered as an assistant Girl Scout leader, and participated most recently in the 2003 and 2004 Relay for Life Rally.

She was a member of the United Church of Christ, and enjoyed her 15 years of singing in the church choir.

She spent her early years in Boston working for an insurance company, and later for the Camps at Belvedere as an assistant to Al Nelson. She was able to travel along the old Route 66 to California, to spend in Florida, Mexico and Havana, Cuba, during the 1930s.

She worked with her husband, who managed the Bryant Pond IGA, before moving to South Portland in 1955. She later was employed by Shaw’s, South Portland, for 10 years.

She enjoyed a wonderful life filled with much joy and love with her many friends and family. One of her greatest joys was her many hours spent at Bug Light Park on Casco Bay. She especially enjoyed spending the winters in Orlando with her son, Ron, or the Gulf Shores, Ala., with her son, Robert, and her warm summer days with her daughter, Denise and son-in-law, Dennis, at their cottage on Moosehead Lake.

In 1998, at the age of 82, she took a canoe trip down the Saco River. She loved the outdoors, whether she was walking through the woods pointing out the various names of flowers or leaves, or swimming laps in the pool or lake. She continued to stay very active and enjoy life to the fullest ,and lived each day like it would be her last right up to the weeks before her death from cancer.

She is survived by her daughter, Denise B. Tibbetts and her husband, Dennis, of Cumberland; her sons, Dr. Ronald Allanach and Dr. Robert Allanach, of Orlando, Fla. and New Orleans; her stepson, Thomas W. Allanach, and daughter-in-law, Maryanne Allanach, of Nashua, N.H.; her grandchildren, Laurie C. Tibbetts, Nicholas Allanach, Jessica M. Tibbetts, Sgt. Nathan Allanach, USMC, Thomas W. Allanach Jr., Mark Allanach, Mary Allanach and Michael Allanach; and a great-grandchild, Ethan Allanach.

She was predeceased by her husband, Harry D. Allanach, on Feb. 4, 1977.