Rachel A. Tabor, 92

Rachel Tabor

Rachel Tabor

SOUTH PORTLAND — Rachel Andrew Tabor passed away peacefully at the South Portland Nursing Home on Wednesday, July 9, 2014.

The only child of George Irving Andrew and Gertrude Brophy Andrew, Rachel Andrew was born in Portland on Aug. 7, 1921.

She grew up in South Windham, where her family ran the L.C. Andrew Lumber Company and graduated from Windham High School in 1938, after which she attended Nasson College in Springvale. Graduating in l942 with a bachelor’s degree and a major in Home Economics, she spent five months as a dietary intern at the North Adams Hospital in Massachusetts.

In November, she joined Maine Medical Center in Portland as a staff dietician, a position she held until 1949 when she accepted a position as chief dietician at Westbrook Junior College.

In October 1951, she married James LeForest Tabor. They had three children: Andrew Davidson, who was born in 1956, Gretchen in 1960 and Thomas Sanborn in 1961.

Rachel was a member of the Junior League of Portland and the Osewantha Garden Club. She did volunteer work at Maine Medical Center and was a director of the South Portland Nursing Association. While her children were in school, she was active in Parent-Teachers Association, serving as president of the Small School PTA. She was also a former member of the State Street Church in Portland.

Initially, Rachel and her husband lived on Deering Street in Portland. From 1953 to retirement, the Tabors made their home on Drew Road in Danforth Cove in South Portland, and built the family cottage on Keoka Lake in Waterford in 1966. Upon her husband’s retirement from Oakhurst Dairy in 1981, the family bought and renovated an 1830 farmhouse in Naples that they had admired for years as they passed it while traveling to and from Waterford.

A dedicated homemaker who enjoyed nature and the outdoors, Rachel and her husband delivered “Meals on Wheels” in the Casco, Raymond and Naples area for many years. They made their final home together in the Applegate community in Falmouth starting in the year 2000, and later resided at The Cedars in Portland starting in 2010. Rachel moved to the South Portland Nursing Home in 2014.

Rachel’s husband James predeceased her in September, 2013.

She is survived by son, Andrew of Cape Elizabeth; a grandson; daughter, Gretchen Heath of Chamblee, Ga; two granddaughters; son, Thomas of Surry.

A private graveside service will be held at a later date. Arrangements are under the guidance of Hobbs Funeral Home, South Portland. Condolences may be expressed online at www.hobbsfuneralhome.com