HARRISON – John A. Hatch, 83, died April 20, 2017, at the Maine Veterans' Home in South Paris.

Born Dec. 5, 1933, in Circleville, N.Y., to Llewellyn and Pearl E. Gillen Hatch, John was the youngest of three sons. After attending a two-room school in Circleville until the eighth grade, and graduating from Middletown High School, John went on to attain his Bachelor’s degree in Education at Oswego State College, Oswego, N.Y. While at Oswego John was a top runner on the cross-country team.

After graduation in 1956, John was immediately drafted into the U.S. Army and served during peacetime in the 101st Airborne as a paratrooper in the 501st Airborne Mortar Battery. His special assignment was Troop Information NCO. After his discharge from the Army in 1958, John began his teaching career at Haviland Junior High School, Hyde Park, N.Y., in the Industrial Arts Program, then at the Arlington Junior High in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., until he took an early retirement at age 55.

John’s skills in woodworking led him to an interest in historic preservation and restoration which included both the 1798 Quitman House and the Palatine Farmstead in Rhinebeck, N.Y., along with the reconstruction/restoration of the 1847 Scribner’s sawmill and its Homestead in Harrison.

He and his family were residents of Rhinebeck from 1963 until they became permanent residents of Harrison in 2014.

John is survived by his wife of 54 years, Marilyn S. Wagner Hatch; and two sons, Mark R. and wife Linda of Glenwood Springs, Colo., and Scott D. and wife Janice of Harrison.

He is also survived by a brother Richard and sister-in-law Sandra Hatch of N.C.; and nephew William Hatch of Va.

A memorial service will be held on Monday, Aug. 14, at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon at the Scribner Homestead, 244 Scribners Mills Rd., Harrison. Burial will be at the Circleville Cemetery on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 10 a.m. Donations may be made in his memory to Scribner’s Mill Preservation at PO Box 323, Harrison, ME 04040, or to the Palatine Farmstead, PO Box 624, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. Arrangements are under the care of Chandler Funeral Homes & Cremation Service, 45 Main St., South Paris. Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.chandlerfunerals.com