Wilbur F. Hammond, 90

Wilbur F. Hammond

FRYEBURG — Wilbur F. Hammond, 90, of Fryeburg, passed away peacefully on the 29th of Dec., with his wife and members of his family at his side.

Born on the 19th of Oct. in 1922, at his parents’ home in Hiram, he went on to attend Fryeburg Academy, where he was an outstanding student athlete, graduating as Valedictorian and Class President in 1941. He married his high school sweetheart, Adeline Ellen Brown, of Lovell, Maine on Nov. 21 1942. He attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute and left to enlist in the United States Marine Corps, where he served in the Pacific and was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of Staff Sergeant.

He returned to join his father in the lumber business and together they formed Thomas Hammond & Son, in Hiram, which he continued to operate until his retirement in 2006. In conjunction with his business he also was an advocate for his industry, serving as Director of the Maine Forest Products Council, President of the Northeast Lumber Manufacturers Association, Director of National Forest Products, and he served under the Bush Administration as Chairman and Treasurer of the American Lumber Standards Committee. He  also served with his wife “Bette” as People to People Ambassador to China.

Wilbur was active in his community, serving as a school board member and Selectman for the Town of Hiram, on the Board of Northern Cumberland Memorial Hospital and as a Trustee of Fryeburg Fair, where he helped establish the Saco Valley Woodsmen’s Field Day and served as its Chair for over 30 years. He was a Past Commander of the McLaughlin-Hartford Post 7642 VFW and a member of the Maine Audubon Society.

A Past Master of the Mount Moriah Lodge AF&AM #56 and a Christian man, he served as Deacon in both the Congregational Church of Hiram and the United Church of Christ in Fryeburg. A devoted son, he was predeceased by his father, Thomas R. S. Hammond and his mother Henrietta Milliken Hammond. Hammy, as Wilbur was often known, was dedicated to and proud of his family. He  is survived by his beloved wife of 70 years, Adeline Ellen “Bette” Brown Hammond and  his children:  Wilbur F. Hammond Jr. and wife Barbara of Sequim Wash., Toby B. Hammond and wife Janie of Naples, Connie-Lee Jones and  husband Woody of Portland, Cheryl-Lynn Outram and husband Jim of Fryeburg, Thomas S. Hammond and wife Debbie of Sarasota, Fla., and Christian T. Hammond and wife Madeleine of Hiram; grandchildren: Wilbur F. Hammond III and wife Colleen, Robyn Sala and husband Joseph, Holly Nass and husband Jon, Nathan Boothby and wife Casey, Justin Boothby and wife Ashley, Amanda Boothby, Thomas Hammond II and wife Susie, Greta Fiorina and husband Mike and Benjamin Hammond; and  11 great-grandchildren: Willow Hammond, Jacob, Maxwell and Eliza Nass, Karlie and Kayla Boothby, Cyrus and Liesl Boothby, Carter Hammond  and Adeline and John Thomas Fiorina.

A private celebration of life will be held at the family home on Kezar Lake in the summer. Wilbur will be interred in Pine Grove Cemetery in Fryeburg, Maine.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Fryeburg Rescue, P.O. Box 177, Fryeburg, ME 04037, in Wilbur’s name. Arrangements are made with Wood Funeral Home, Fryeburg, ME. Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.woodfuneralhome.org