NORTH YARMOUTH — Elizabeth Phelps Gosselin, 78, died Jan. 10, surrounded by her family.

She was born Aug. 17, 1934, in Winchester, Mass., the daughter of Marjorie Sands and Barton Francis Curit. The oldest of three daughters, she grew up in Barrington, R.I., and graduated from Lincoln School in Providence, R.I., in 1952 and Middlebury College in 1956.

Gosselin and her husband, Paul, lived in Cheshire, Conn. With their three sons, Christopher, Eric and John before moving to Yarmouth in 1974. In 2001, she and Paul moved to their home in North Yarmouth.

She began her career working for American Cynamid in Stamford, Conn., as a chemist. She later worked as a proofreader for scientific journals and worked for several banks including People’s Heritage Bank in Yarmouth, where she was branch manager.

In the mid-1990s, she changed careers and became a real estate broker working for RE/MAX Heritage in Yarmouth. She and her husband founded Yarmouth Auto Sales, a business they ran for more than 10 years in Yarmouth and Freeport until they retired in 2005.

She was a devoted and loving wife and mother. She and her husband raised their sons with grace, courage and determination. This included taking the kids to hockey practice at 6 a.m. on Sundays and making sure that family made time to have dinner at the dinner table every night. She was the center of the family, always planning and organizing family gatherings.

Gosselin loved many activities but her favorites were spending time with her family and friends, especially her five grandchildren, gardening and bird watching. She could be found most days during the spring, summer and fall tending to her flowers and trees, always with a copy of the “Peterson’s Field Guide to Birds of North America,” and a pair of binoculars.

She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Paul Gosselin, of North Yarmouth; sons Chris Gosselin and his wife, Cyndy, of Hudson, N.H., Eric Gosselin of Windham and John Gosselin and his wife, Bethany Beausang, of South Portland; sisters Barbara Thorp of Ithaca, N.Y., and Martha Hough and her husband, Walter, of Savannah, Ga.; five grandchildren, Gabrielle, Tyler, Alex, Evan and Lily Gosselin; and several nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life was held at Lindquist Funeral Home in Yarmouth on Jan. 13.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Fragile X Foundation, 1615 Bonanza Street, Suite 202, Walnut Creek, CA, 94596.