Unity residents remember beloved ‘country doc’

UNITY – Harrison “Doc” Aldrich was an old-fashioned country doctor with a zest for life and devotion to community and family.

He was also crazy about sports and had trouble keeping a schedule.

For the hundreds of people who gathered Wednesday at the Unity College gymnasium to celebrate his life and say goodbye, “Doc” Aldrich was a man who cared for, treated and loved everyone he came into contact with during the 37 years he practiced in his adopted home town.

“He certainly lived the life he wanted to as a country doctor,” his son David Aldrich recalled on behalf of the family. “Beyond his title as doctor, he wanted to be part of this community. … We thank you. You gave him the opportunity to be who he was, and without you that would not have happened. This community was the whole core of his life.”

Those who spoke in remembrance of Aldrich remarked that it was fitting to find him at rest in the gym of the college that he helped found three decades ago. It was also fitting that he was remembered in a sports setting, because sports were his passion, whether the Unity College Rams, Boston Celtics or University of Maine Black Bears.

Aldrich was an avid UMaine hockey fan and it was while attending a game in Orono last Friday that he was stricken and died. He was 70.

“He would fly down to see a Celtics game in the afternoon, a [Boston] Bruins game at night, fly back and deliver a baby that night. That was a good day for Harry,” said Dr. Chet Suske, a close colleague.

Gazing around the gymnasium, Suske paused and said, “Welcome to the house that Harry built.”

Suske described his friend as man who could not only light up a room with a smile, but also with his loud, colorful clothes.

“Harry was not a candle in the wind. He was a firecracker, a rocket. He was bright,” said Suske.

Aldrich was a commanding personality who loved to take off in his airplane at a moment’s notice, cherished his friends, loved a big meal, was addicted to golf and couldn’t resist telling a joke. He was a legendary sports figure at the University of Massachusetts, where he was named athlete of the year in 1954.

He practiced medicine in Unity until the day he died.

Nacie Bowerman was a teen-ager when she and her friend Mary Furrow were hired to clean the office in preparation for the arrival of the new doctor in town. Aldrich arrived late, but won the girls over immediately. Bowerman remained a close friend and Furrow never left his side, advancing from cleaning lady to “right hand” and office manager.

“He was nice to me from the day we first met,” Bowerman said.

Besides being one of the founders of Unity College, Aldrich was a driving force behind the creation of the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford. He served on scores of state, regional and national organizations dealing with medicine and sports. He held osteopathic licenses in six other states besides Maine.

Dr. Al Amalfitano described Aldrich as a man who was rarely on time and one who could never maintain a schedule. He was the kind of person “you could call any time, any hour or any day and say, ‘I need help,’ and Harry would be there. … He was the type of individual if his plate was full [he] would still not refuse to do something else,” said Amalfitano. “He was steadfast, almost like being the center of a show. He loved everyone, he gave to everyone and this is what I remember most. A diamond in the rough.”

Donna Parsons, whose late father, Gordon, was also a founder of Unity College and friend of Aldrich’s, recalled meeting him at the age of 10. She said Aldrich’s office was packed with patients from the moment he arrived in town. She said he followed his patients’ lives from childhood to adulthood.

“He was one of the most positive, energetic, uplifting men I’ve even known,” Parsons said.

Aldrich’s grandson, Eric, who needed to stand on a chair to reach the microphone, spoke softly of the man who touched his life. He thanked everyone for coming and observed that his grandfather’s death had brought the community together in remembrance.

“He was happy about everything … He loved going to hockey games and he loved going to fairs,” he said. “I can’t believe his time has come. I hope all of you know how special and fun he was. I hope you all will miss him. I love you grandpa.”