BANGOR – David W. Fuller, a former Maine legislator and Bangor city councilor, died March 20 at Eastern Maine Medical Center of complications from pneumonia. He was 94.

Recalled as an able attorney with an interest in politics, Fuller was an active member of many civic organizations. He helped organize the Bangor-Brewer Community Chest, predecessor of the United Way of Penobscot Valley, which recently was renamed the United Way of Eastern Maine. He was a member of the Bangor City Council from 1945 to 1948 and a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1951 to 1955.

While in the House, he sponsored an amendment to the Maine Constitution to clarify the voting rights of Maine Indians.

Fuller was an ex-officio chairman of the Bangor Water Board. At one time, he and his wife, the former Phyllis Frost, occupied a home near the Thomas Hill Standpipe in Bangor. His wife, a daughter of the founders of Webber Oil Co., died in 1994.

Described by family members as a quiet, unassuming man, Fuller developed an avid interest in the sport of fencing at age 19 and engaged in weekly matches until he was 71.

Born in Southwest Harbor on Jan. 5, 1907, Fuller attended local schools and obtained a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Maine in 1928.

Fuller attended Harvard Law School from 1928 to 1930 and later continued his law studies. He was admitted to the Maine bar in 1932.

Accountant Lawrence Parker of Bangor recalled Fuller as a man of high intelligence who was “very knowledgeable and in control of his finances.”

“He was a pleasure to work with,” Parker said. At times, Fuller, “being as smart as he was,” challenged the financial expert to perform at top efficiency, but “it was fun,” Parker said.

“He was well-respected,” Parker added.

An avid reader, Fuller had a “fantastic memory,” according to his stepdaughter Linda Harnum of Holden and Pompano Beach, Fla.

Harnum said Fuller was “very supportive of me. If I had a paper at school to write, he would send me all sorts of magazine clippings and newspaper clippings and give me different ideas on how I should write it.”

“He was a very wonderful stepdad,” Harnum recalled.

Jackie Witham of Rockport, Harnum’s older sister, said Fuller married her mother, a widow, when Witham was in high school and her sister was about 10. “He was a bachelor until fairly late in life, and he kind of walked into unknown waters,” Witham recalled.

As a stepfather, he was “very kind. I don’t think he said no to anything my sister or I asked for within reason,” Witham said.

“He was a brilliant man,” Witham said, though not very social. “I think he enjoyed lunches at the Tarratine Club.”

Fuller practiced law in Bangor from 1932 until his retirement except for three years – 1943, 1944 and 1945 – when he served in the Army. A World War II veteran, Fuller was an agent for the Provost Marshal General’s Office. After the war, he served as vice president of the Military Intelligence Association of New England.

Fuller was a house counsel for the Webber Oil Co. for decades. He attended St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bangor. He was a member of many military organizations and belonged to the Anah Temple Shrine. He also was a member of the Bangor Historical Society.

A funeral service will be held at a date to be announced in the spring. Gifts in Fuller’s memory may be made to the Bangor Humane Society, 693 Mount Hope Ave., Bangor.