AUBURN — Dwight “Pete” Loring Tripp Jr., 76, of Harrison, died Monday, June 11, 2012 at the Hospice House.

He was born in New Gloucester on his great-grandfather Will’s farm, the son of Dwight Sr. and Marion Dunlap Tripp. Soon after birth, Will nicknamed Dwight Jr., “Pete.”

Most of the family knew him as “Pete” and he conducted much of his business under the name of Pete Tripp. He attended schools in Auburn and was active in football. He later studied banking at Harvard and Purdue universities.

He was married to Janice Thurlow, and they shared two daughters, Linda and Cheryl. He later married Dorothy Thomas and had a daughter, Henrietta.

During the early years, he was a dairy farmer and ran a logging operation. He was involved in horse pulling at Maine fairs. For a short time, he worked for the Maine Turnpike Authority. In 1963, he started a registered Holstein dairy operation that was known as Trippcrest Farm, which he dispersed in 1987.

After dispersing his excellent herd of Holsteins, he wanted to see if he could raise top-notch Percheron horses. He married Jane Gray on Dec. 31, 2004. He and Jane proved that they could with a number of home-bred All American nominee Percherons, capping it in 2011 with a reserve All American three-year-old mare.

One of their hitches of mares won the Supreme Percheron Six-Mare Hitch in 2010 at the World Percheron Congress in Des Moines, Iowa. In January of this year, the mares were reserve Champions in the North American Six-Horse Hitch Classic Series at the National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colo.

He was active in many organizations. He served as a selectman and tax assessor for the Town of Minot for 29 years as well as serving on the budget committee and the building committee for the first addition to Minot Consolidated School.

He was president of the Pine Tree Dairy Herd Improvement Association and a national director of the National Dairy Herd Improvement Association. He was a member of the Agway Council and served as chairman of the Auburn Agway Committee. He served as director and chairman of the board for Springfield (Mass.) Bank of Cooperatives. He was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to the Federal Farm Credit Board, representing New England, New Jersey and New York, and during his two four-year terms was president of the board. He was a director of the Pine Tree Holstein Association. He was president of the Oxford County Fair for 10 years and a past president of the Maine Association of Agricultural Fairs.

He was a director of Patrons and Oxford Insurance Co. and past master of the Minot Center Grange and Androscoggin Pomona Grange. He was also a trustee of the Minot Center Congregational Church. He was a well-known auctioneer all over New England.

He provided horse-drawn sleigh rides at the farm and hay rides at the Auburn Mall at Christmas time.

He is survived by his wife of Harrison; his children, Linda Cookson, Cheryl Caron and Henrietta Hines; 11 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; a sister, Edith Berry; stepchildren, Sally Allen, Joel Gray and Daniel Gray; and six step-grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his parents; a granddaughter; and a great-granddaughter.

Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.chandlerfunerals.com

Visitation was held on Wednesday at Chandler Funeral Homes & Cremation Service, 45 Main Street, South Paris. A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, June 16, at 2 p.m. at the Masonic Hall on Route 117 in Bridgton.

Donations in Pete’s memory may be made to the 2014 World Percheron Congress, PO Box 141, Fredericktown, OH 43019.