Bangor patron Webber dies at 91 Philanthropy earned respect of community

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BANGOR – One of Bangor’s most respected and generous philanthropists and business leaders died Tuesday, leaving a void in the city he loved and an empty chair at the board tables of the area’s largest institutions.

G. Peirce Webber died at his home on Webster Avenue. He was 91.

Webber led Webber Timberlands, the largest private owner of Maine woodlands, for the last half of the 20th century while building and gently guiding the endowments and budgets of the Bangor area’s most significant institutions.

Up until his death, Webber was the most sought-after board member in the city, his name alone bringing legitimacy and respect to fund-raising campaigns.

Born in Bangor in 1910, Webber was one of four children raised in a family that had amassed great wealth from the purchase of Maine timberlands. He grew up in the West Broadway home that now belongs to Stephen King.

After he graduated from Harvard College in 1933, Webber became the fourth generation to take over Webber Timberlands, the largest private owner of commercial woodland in the state.

For 47 years, from a small, simple office in downtown Bangor, Webber managed the 300,000 to 400,000 acres of woods and saw that the profits were divided among the 40 family owners. He retired in 1980, turning the management of the land over to Prentiss and Carlisle Management Co.

His wisdom as a businessman and as an investor were legendary, but it was his deep affection for his community and his generous commitment to it that humbled those around him and made him a model for civic involvement and philanthropy.

In 1936, Webber married Florence “Fossie” Pitts and the couple built a brick home near the end of Webster Avenue. The couple had two children, Emily and John. Emily died in 1959 shortly after giving birth to a son. She was 22. Fossie Webber died in 1991.

Though he was a very wealthy man, Webber lived fairly simply. He chuckled at the thought of ever owning a Mercedes and opted instead for a midsize Buick. He was well traveled and lived very comfortably but chose to give most of his money to agencies and institutions that he believed in.

“He had a heart as big as his wallet and was always ready to help anyone in need,” said Charles Bragg II, former president of N.H. Bragg & Sons and Webber’s friend since the two entered kindergarten. “He will be greatly missed in the community.”

Elanna Farnham, another close friend, agreed. “Nobody will ever have an idea how many people in the community he has helped over the years. He was a very quiet giver,” she said. “He was one of the finest gentlemen I have ever known. He was a gentle, kind, brilliant man. I’m so sad to know that he has passed.”

In 1980 Webber set up a charitable lead trust, which paid annuities of $35,000 each year that were split three ways among the YMCA, the University of Maine Foundation and Eastern Maine Charities. For 20 years each organization received an annual check of $11,600. The trust matured last May.

Webber sat on boards at the University of Maine Foundation, the YMCA, Husson College, Eastern Maine Charities, the Good Samaritan Agency and the Katahdin Area Council.

His name adorns buildings at Eastern Maine Medical Center and Husson College. There are countless scholarships and teaching and research awards that bear his name. In February, the Bangor YMCA renamed its summer camp in Hampden the G. Peirce Webber camp in tribute to its largest contributor.

“I’m so grateful we did that because it meant so much to him,” said Hampden businessman Lloyd Willey, who organized the ceremony that marked the camp’s renaming. “It was the first time he ever saw his whole family together,” Willey said. Family members from Maine, Georgia and Arkansas came for the event.

“I respected him tremendously – his generosity, his humility, his great love for the community. He’s left a void that’s kind of unfillable,” said Willey. “He seemed like he cared more about his community than he cared about himself.”

Added YMCA Executive Director Rob Reeves: “Peirce was a generous and a humble man, very gracious and inconspicuous, especially as related to his philanthropy efforts.”

“G. Peirce Webber was a personal friend and one of the finest, wisest individuals I have ever known,” said Husson College President William Beardsley. “He planted seeds and nourished them.” He established an Acorn Fund at Husson and then served on Husson’s investment committee to help these funds grow.

When Husson established its marine science research and education center this summer, Webber provided the initial research equipment. He also funded scholarships for nursing and business students. College life revolves around the G. Peirce Webber Campus Center, which overlooks a perennial garden named in memory of Webber’s wife.

Eastern Maine Healthcare, Eastern Maine Medical Center and Eastern Maine Charities, for which Webber served as board chairman from 1983 to 1998, were beneficiaries of Webber’s commitment to health care, which he supported through annual gifts, charitable trusts and scholarships. Webber was a hospital trustee emeritus and his generosity was apparent even on the eve of his death.

“Peirce was one of those rare people you meet in life who set the stage for others,” said Michael Crowley, the charities’ vice president for development and now Bangor’s mayor. “He established the highest standard for community service and was so generous with his time, wisdom and other resources.”

Added charities President Dan Coffey on Wednesday: “I met with Peirce at his home in Bangor just yesterday. He asked me to pass along a donation to the Lights of Hope tree at CancerCare of Maine, which he made in recognition of a friend of his who is a cancer survivor. To the very end, Peirce was thinking of others and we are honored to have our endowment and gift planning society bear his name,” Coffey said.

The impact of Webber’s death was felt far beyond Maine.

In a telephone call from Washington, U.S. Rep. John Baldacci said, “I have to tell you, he was someone who walked very softly and who gave every time to just about everyone. He was a very big part of our community,” said the Bangor Democrat. “We’re all going to miss him dearly. Many people in Washington who knew him are deeply saddened by his death. He will be sorely missed.” William Cohen, former U.S. senator and secretary of defense, was among many whom called Webber a friend, Baldacci said.

In a statement issued Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins remembered Webber as “an extraordinary individual of great compassion, wit and energy who gave so much to the community. Peirce leaves a lasting legacy that will benefit Maine citizens for many years to come.”

During an interview last spring, Webber said he earned about half of his money from the woodlands and half from stocks. The stock market was Webber’s passion and his expertise came from “lifelong study,” he said. Despite his grandfather’s strong objections, he bought his first stocks in 1932, three years after the stock market crashed in 1929.

“Oh, good night,” Webber told a visitor recently. “He was madder than hell. He said, ‘You mean to tell me you’re buying stocks?’ “In those days for most people it was only bonds they wanted. Well of course it’s been my salvation, the stocks have.”

Around Bangor they called Webber’s snatches of wisdom “Peirceisms.” He would grin and hold out a trembling hand. “You want that,” he’d say quietly, as if sharing a secret. “When my hand trembles just a bit. That’s when I buy.” His uncanny knack for picking good stocks earned him the respect of many in the region’s financial community.

“Peirce was highly respected. He will be sadly missed by the community, but I’ll miss his wisdom,” said Sandra Blake Leonard, a Bangor stockbroker who served with Webber on the boards of several endowment committees. She said that when it came to investing, Webber was “very astute. I respected him as a colleague. He was a real mentor. He had a long and wonderful and fruitful life.”

Funeral arrangements are by Brookings-Smith. Calling hours are 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, 133 Center St. in Bangor Funeral services are at 1 p.m. Saturday at All Souls Congregational Church in Bangor.

NEWS reporter Dawn Gagnon contributed to this story.