Florence “Florie” Corbin, 91, founder and owner of Three Ravens Antiques and a longtime resident at Huntington Common, died Monday, July 7, at her home.
Born Florence Bradley Smith in Yonkers, N.Y., in 1917, she attended the Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Penn., and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, N.Y., in 1939. She married Harold Harlow Corbin Jr in 1940. Harold enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a teacher in Connecticut and, later, as headmaster of Lake Forest Academy in Illinois, where he and Florie, with the help of longtime friend Russell Carrell, started the prestigious Lake Forest Antiques Show, which continued for about 40 years.
In 1969, Harold and Florie opened Three Ravens Antiques in Falls Village, Conn., moving later to Salisbury, Conn. For 25 years they enjoyed an active shop, where they welcomed old friends and collectors from across the country, and exhibited in a number of antiques shows. Following Harold’s death in 1996, Florie moved to Kennebunk, where, until her illness prevailed, she continued to visit antiques shops in pursuit of “good stuff.”
She is survived by two daughters, Angela Brinton and her husband Terry of Racine, Wis., and Linsey Pilon and her husband Don of Saco, Maine; a brother, Ralph Stuart Smith and his wife Lilian of Bethesda, Md.; three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Burial will take place in Connecticut in August. Any who wish to honor her memory are encouraged to support the Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, 170 US Route 1, Suite 250, Falmouth ME 04105.
