Peter Triolo was always on a roll when networking on behalf of bright young minds.

He loved his last 20 years in Damariscotta, where he soaked in the view of Mear’s Cove from the deck and talked politics, marketing and the shellfish industry with friends and family.

In Damariscotta, he worked his way up at Coastal Senior College, starting in publicity. He loved the vision of the college where old seniors taught young seniors and the discussion was lively, even if you didn’t finish all the reading material.

He slid easily into this volunteer role because, for 20 years, he was an adjunct professor at Fordham University. His favorite gig was teaching marketing management. In a recent oral history interview he said, “I came out of that world. I had those stories in my head, how a company went from poor profits to great success because of what the world of Madison Avenue did for them.” His former students wrote, “ Thanks for bringing the real world to the classroom,” and “Thanks for getting to the heart of the matter and backing it with experience.”

Peter was all about the real world. He was a first generation American, born in Brooklyn, New York,1927. He graduated early from high school to serve in the U.S. Army occupation forces at the end of WWII. He began his more than 30-year career in advertising, starting at Dancer Fitzgerald & Sample in 1953 where he was the media buyer for General Mills (Cheerios and Cocoa Puffs). He learned his craft at Ogilvy, Benson & Mather on the Shell Oil and Maxwell House accounts. “Work was both exciting and stressful,” he said. His career culminated at William Esty where he successfully navigated the brand name change of Datsun to Nissan in the American market.

In 1953, he visited his parents for Thanksgiving. His mother needed eggs so he obliged and drove his Oldsmobile to the egg farm. His high school French teacher pulled up and recognized him. Bonjour, Madame, he said. Who is this with you? This is Audrey, a Smith College student and friend of the family, she replied. The next week, he called the college, got her number, and invited her to the theater. A year later, they were married.

Audrey and Peter always had a five year plan. They had 39 years together, mostly in Riverside, CT, and had four children: Stuart, Bruce, Ellen and Leslie and nine grandchildren. Peter passed on his legacy of integrity, steadfast support and calling home on Sundays.

After widowhood, he met another Smith graduate, Helen Marsh, and they settled in Damariscotta where she taught him to sail and got him to travel a bit more. There was nothing better than sitting on the deck with the Marsh’s and the Triolo’s talking shop.

Peter died April 17 at Miles Memorial Hospital, after breaking a hip. He was surrounded by his four children telling stories about their steadfast pop. He was 91.

Arrangements are under the direction and care of the Strong-Hancock Funeral Home, 612 Main Street, Damariscotta, ME 04543. Condolences, and messages for his family, may be expressed by visiting: www.StrongHancock.com.

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