Obituaries from the week of 09/17/09

Tim loved being outside, whether he was hiking, searching for gems and minerals, or gliding across the lake or down a river in a canoe. His joy and pleasure in the experience was clear to everyone who knew him. Tim was one of those rare individuals who sought after information constantly. He was always reaching for a field guide or reference book to look up and identify some plant or perhaps the tracks of an animal found while out snowshoeing. Another of his passions, which tied in so well to his work for a land surveyor, was maps. Old maps, new maps, topographic maps and the history behind them were a never-ending source of fascination for Tim. Tim was also an avid researcher of town roads. He did extensive research on the history and status of the roads in both the Town of Waterford and for the Town of Greenwood. Tim worked hard for the Town of Waterford, first joining the Planning Board and then being elected as the Chairman. As Chairman, Tim was known for his thoughtful and thorough research into Maine Law. He was a firm believer in the planning review process and he worked hard to study the law that drives that process. His commitment to helping the Town of Waterford was evident to all who worked with him.

He is survived by his life partner, Laurie Davis; his mother, Sylvia Fanning; his father Kenneth Fanning; his brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Jacque Fanning and their children Nick, Matt and Ryan Bolduc. He was cherished and loved and will be greatly missed by family, friends and community.

At 2 p.m. on Saturday, September 19, 2009, a celebration of Tim’s life will be held at his home at 201 Five Kezars Rd., in North Waterford. All who wish to attend are welcome. A potluck meal will follow. In lieu of flowers, those who wish to make a donation in Tim’s memory may do so to Stoneham Rescue at P.O. Box 42, Stoneham, ME 04231. Arrangements are under the direction of Weston-Chandler Funeral Home, 45 Main St., South Paris. Online condolences may be shared with his family at www.westonchandler.com

She was born in Buxton on Jan. 18, 1931, the daughter of Randoph and Bernice Rowe Harmon. She attended and graduated from local schools and became a licenced CNA. She worked for 20 years as a caregiver at the Barron Center in Portland. She was a member of the Kezar Falls Assembly of God. Alberta enjoyed many crafts such as knitting and crocheting, and truly loved to go to yard sales. She especially enjoyed the holidays and always loved spending time with her loving family.

Besides her parents, she was predeceased by a sister, Edna Huff; and a daughter, Deborah Willette, who tragically died in a car accident on Aug. 17, 2009.

Surviving are two sons, Eugene Harmon and Kenneth Harmon, both of Hiram; two daughters, Marguerite Harmon of Van Buren and Patricia Babb of West Baldwin; a sister, Mary Fournier of Florida; 21 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and many loving nieces and nephews.

An hour of visitation will be on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 6 to 7 p.m. immediately followed by a memorial service at 7 p.m. at the Watson Funeral Home, 71 Maple St., Cornish. Pastor Herbert Wilcox will officiate. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Barron Center Resident Fund, 1145 Brighton Ave., Portland, ME 04102.

DJ was born on Oct. 27, 1989 in Norway, the son of Andy and Kathy Mattson Houghtaling. He attended Carolina Forest High School. DJ enjoyed skateboarding, music and being with his friends. 

Survivors include his parents, Andy and Kathy of Myrtle Beach, S.C.; aunts, uncles and cousins from Maine, Connecticut and New York. 

Funeral services were held Saturday, Sept. 12 at the Carolina Forest Community Church with Pastor Brad Mitchell and Pastor Rick Adkins officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Carolina Forest Community Church, Student’s Ministries, 1381 Carolina Forest Blvd., Myrtle Beach, SC 29579. Arrangements by McMillan-Small Funeral Home.

She was born in Mechanic Falls, March 17, 1916, the daughter of Edwin and Marion Hanscom Lawler. She graduated from Mechanic Falls High School, Portland School of Art and Keith Parris Center for Art. In 1949, she started working for Geneva Campbell at J.A. Bucknam Insurance which became A.Q. Miller Insurance and later Norton Insurance. She retired in 1987.

Aletha was a member of the First Congregational Church of Mechanic Falls and had served on the diaconate and fellowship committees, was a member of the ladies guild and actively worked on the monthly suppers. She was a 75-year member and past noble grand of Colfax Rebekah Lodge #27, and a member of Dwinal Chapter Order of the Eastern Star. She loved to paint and was painting up until this year. Her family remembers her as always being there when someone needed something, a very caring person, a lady. She married Kenneth Mitchell on Sept. 17, 1938, He died Sept. 27, 1992.

Survivors include a daughter, Nancy Lee Dow of Casco; three grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Friday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. at the First Congregational Church of Mechanic Falls with interment to follow at Maple Grove Cemetery. Family and friends may call at the Weston-Chandler Funeral Home, 26 West Dwinal St., Mechanic Falls on Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. Online condolences may be shared with her family at www.westonchandler.com

She was born on Sept. 2, 1943, in Portland, a daughter of Henri O. and Irene “Sis” E. (Mulkern) Fontaine, attended local schools, including Cathedral High School, and went on to attend Pierre’s School of Beauty. Anne was a devoted mother and nana who loved her family. She enjoyed swimming in the ocean, body surfing at Old Orchard Beach, and watching country music videos. Anne also loved to dance and sing, and was a huge fan of anything chocolate, especially ice cream. She loved to play cribbage and, although she was not a big fan of the game, Anne would play Scrabble with her mother “Sis” all the time. She also liked to crochet in her younger days. Anne was a “worry wart” that worried about everyone around her. Her most noticeable qualities were her honesty and fairness. Anne was a former communicant of St. Dominic’s Church, and was a current communicant of St. Patrick's Church.

Anne was predeceased by her parents and a brother, James R. Fontaine.

She is survived by her children, daughter Kellyanne Murphy of East Baldwin, sons Robert A. Grover of Windham and Steven M. Kuntz of Gorham; sisters, Barbara Darling, Roseanne Talbot, Mary Jeanne Sacco, Eileen Fontaine and Bernadette Gorham, all of Portland; brothers, Robert E. Fontaine of Peoria, Ariz., Francis A. Fontaine of Biddeford, Henry B. Fontaine, Thomas J. Fontaine, Joseph F. Fontaine, and Paul C. Fontaine, all of Portland; five grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and many nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

Visiting hours were on Sunday, Sept. 13 at the Conroy-Tully Crawford Funeral Home, 172 State Street, Portland. Prayers were recited on Monday, Sept. 14 at the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Patrick’s Church, 1342 Congress Street, Portland. Interment was in New Calvary Cemetery, South Portland. Online condolences may be expressed at www.ctcrawford.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in Anne’s name may be made to: Meals on Wheels, c/o Southern Maine Agency on Aging, 136 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough, ME 04074.

Born in Framingham, Mass. on August 16, 1966 the son of Mabel and Dana Merle “Tardie” Hagerman Sr. Dana attended the Scarborough schools. He enjoyed spending time with his son Nathan taking rides with him in his truck, he enjoyed his vegetable gardens, fishing at Pine Point, going out on his boat, animals, playing poker and telling jokes.

He is survived by his father Dana M. Hagerman Sr. of Alfred; his mother Mabel Hagerman of Scarborough; son Nathan Hagerman of Standish; sisters Lisa Harmon of South Portland, Norma Johnson of Naples, Tammy Hagerman of Scarborough and Karen Hagerman of Scarborough; several nieces and nephews.

A visiting hour was held Monday Sept. 14 where a memorial service followed at the Hobbs Funeral Home, 671 U.S. Route 1, Scarborough. For online condolences, you may go to www.hobbsfuneralhome.com In lieu of flowers, donation may be made in his memory to: The National Kidney Foundation, P.O. Box 1134, Portland, ME 04104 or to The American Diabetes Association, 163 Lancaster Street, Suite 98 R, Portland, ME 04101.

George was born April 8, 1933, the son of George Turcotte Sr. and Nellie Grubb Turcotte. He worked his entire life in the telephone industry and took early retirement from GTE in 1994. He was a master of art when it came to working with wood, making several pieces of elegant furniture for family and friends in his retirement years. 

He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Bonnie Turcotte of Fryeburg; his sons, Troy of Bridgton and Jon of Buxton; a daughter Tori Kenerson of Fryeburg; his sister, Evelyn Lorraine Sawyer of South Portland; and seven grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, Sept. 17 at Wood Funeral Home, 9 Warren Street, Fryeburg with Father Brian Blanchette officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Fryeburg Rescue, P.O. Box 177, Fryeburg, ME. 04037. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www. woodfuneralhome.org

She was born on Sept. 17, 1955, the daughter of Clyde and Marlene Haley Hansen. She was a graduate of Sacopee Valley High School in South Hiram. She was a caregiver for some time working with the developmentally disabled, and also worked in housekeeping at local hotels. Judy also worked for several years at Irwin Tool in Gorham. She loved to ride Harley’s with her boyfriend Jeff, and had a great love of dancing. She was above all a devoted mother and grandmother and enjoyed spending time with her family and friends.

Surviving are her faithful partner of six years, Jeffrey Rutter of Scarborough; two daughters, Jana Hansen of East Baldwin and Salli Hansen of Scarborough; two brothers, Tim Hansen of Cornish and Tom Hansen of East Waterboro; her sister, Jackie Dewitt of Porter; three grandchildren; and several loving nieces and nephews.

There will be an hour of visitation on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 1 to 2 p.m. with a memorial service immediately following at 2 p.m. at the Watson Funeral Home, 71 Maple St., Cornish. Pastor Robert Irish will officiate.

She was born in Columbia, N.H. on April 30, 1921, a daughter of Jesse and Josephine Lemieux Bunnell.

Lillian was predeceased by her beloved husband, Robert L. Potter, in 1999.

A memorial service was held on Sunday, Sept. 13, at the Sebago Center Community Church, 407 Bridgton Road, Sebago. Arrangements by Watson Funeral Home, Cornish. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to: The Good Shepherd’s Cove Church, P.O. Box 1313, Kennebunk, ME 04043 or The Sebago Center Community Church Ladies Circle.

Ethel Helena Higgins, the daughter of Mabel Dodge Higgins and Robert Solomon Higgins, was born on the island of Westport. She lost her mother when she was a few months old, and grew up among her aunts, uncles, and grandparents. She loved going to her Grammy’s house for donuts and her uncle’s house on Sundays for homemade ice cream. She loved to tell stories of the old days on the island with her father’s chicken house and lobster operation and her uncle’s general store and icehouse. She attended a one-room schoolhouse on the island and later rowed to the mainland to attend school in Wiscasset. After she graduated from Wiscasset High School, she moved to Massachusetts to work for a dentist. There, she met her husband of 66 years, Vincent DeVito. They moved to Portland after he returned from service in WWII. Together, they built a house and raised four children. It made her very proud that all of her children went to college.

Ethel is survived by her four children, Robert of Ormond Beach, Fla., Lee of Harrison and Haverhill, Mass., Anita and Ellen both of Portland; and two grandchildren.

A private service was held for the immediate family. A memorial service will be held at the family cemetery on Westport for friends and family. In lieu of flowers, please make monetary donations to the Ethel and Vincent DeVito Memorial Scholarship Fund, at Wentworth Institute, Boston, Mass. Donations should be sent to: Melanie M. Sheffield, Associate Director of Institutional Advancement, Wentworth Institute of Technology, 550 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02115. Please make payable to Ethel and Vincent DeVito Memorial Scholarship Fund.