Carol Ann Babina

Carol was born on June 2, 1945, in Brooklyn, New York, to the late Ernest Joseph Petito and Elena (Baranello) Petito. She grew up in Woodbury, Long Island, where she graduated from Syosset High School, at a young seventeen years of age. Carol entered the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy in Storrs, CT, and excelled in her studies there. During her freshman year, she showed an interest in the school’s extracurricular student-run radio station. By her Junior year, Carol had become the station manager, and the first woman station manager in Connecticut. The radio station was also where she met her future husband, John, who had joined the broadcast enthusiasts. A brilliant student in all her academic endeavors, Carol graduated in 1967 from the School of Pharmacy at the top of her class.

For some years after her graduation, Carol continued in her chosen career with the pharmacy of the Norwalk Hospital. While there, she initiated a safer “unit dose” system for the delivery of medications to hospital patients. She also mentored other pharmacology students, several of whom remember her fondly to this day.

In October of 1968, Carol and John married. After a brief residence in Norwalk, they bought a home and settled in the town of Monroe. While continuing at Norwalk Hospital, Carol also took jobs in a few of the local pharmacies, before she changed her career path. She decided to pursue her love of radio broadcasting again. Carol and John began in 1970 to create a station at Masuk High School in Monroe, engaging both students and engineers in the endeavor.

In 1971, Carol and John welcomed a baby son, John III and became a family of three.

The WMNR Fine Arts Radio was born, after acquiring an FCC license, in 1973.

As assistant manager at WMNR, Carol remained the mighty force behind the scenes in the station’s financial success and listener expansion. Over the course of her four decades of service to WMNR, Carol organized pledge drives and raised $17 million in funding. She became the pleasing and captivating voice of the station ID for WMNR.

In 2023, WMNR celebrated fifty years of public broadcasting reaching all of southern CT and Long Island. On October 15, 2024, Carol and John were inducted into the CT Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

Carol is survived by her best friend and husband John, her devoted son John III, her loving daughter-in-law Robyn and her cherished grandsons, Jay and Alex Babina. She also leaves a sister, Kathleen (Petito) Penfield and brother-in-law, Edward Jay Penfield, her sister-in-law, Ada Sala (Charles), brothers-in-law Dan Babina (Tricia) and David Babina (Christine). Carol leaves several nieces and nephews, and dear friends, who loved her and will miss her deeply. In appreciation, Carol’s family thanks Bernadine van der Byl and Astou Thiam, for their loving care.

Carol will be remembered for her kindness and humility, her integrity and perseverance through long years of health challenges, and her constant love for family and friends.

Visiting hours will be from 4-8pm at Spadaccino Funeral Home, 315 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, on Wednesday, October 29th.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, October 30th, 10:30 am, at Saint Jude’s Parish, 707 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe. Burial to follow at St John’s Cemetery, Monroe.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to WMNR Fine Arts Radio in Monroe, CT or to the National M.S. Society.