BANGOR – John Bacon, 71, owner of Bacon Printing Co. and an avid sports booster, died Sunday afternoon after battling Lou Gehrig’s disease for more than a year.

Bacon, who took over Bacon Printing Co. when his father died in 1986, was known as an avid outdoorsman who loved salmon fishing and his camp at Moosehead Lake.

“I used to ask him, ‘With four healthy daughters and 15 healthy grandchildren, what more can a guy ask for?’ … He knew that anyway,” said Carlton A. Strout Jr., his son-in-law and operating manager of Bacon Printing. “He enjoyed being with and working with family.”

Bacon is survived by his wife of 47 years, Sandra Bacon, and four daughters Judy Strout, Kim McLellan, Terry Vanidestine and Alice Hussey.

Bacon had been ill for the past year, but doctors were unable to find a reason for his illness until two weeks ago when he was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease, said Strout.

He was hospitalized for a week before he returned home.

Bacon didn’t miss a day of work until he was hospitalized, Strout said. “He was a very successful, hard-working and kindhearted man.”

An obituary will appear later.