BRUNSWICK – Verdi Tripp, a former newsman who served in the Maine House of Representatives from 1994 to 2000, died of cancer on Wednesday. Tripp was 66. A former Topsham selectman who was active in community affairs, Tripp had been a Portland Press Herald reporter… Read More
    SCARBOROUGH – Christo Anton, a former professional bowler who served during the 1970s as the first director of the Maine State Lottery, died at his home May 22 at the age of 75. A Biddeford native, Anton was the state’s top candlepin bowler for three… Read More
    FALMOUTH, Mass. – A well-known Penobscot Indian who in 2004 successfully challenged a Colonial-era law that required the imprisonment of Indians who entered Boston died last weekend. John “Sam” Sapiel, 75, died Saturday in Falmouth, a family friend confirmed in a news release. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    Roy C. Daigle, the first general manager of the Bangor Mall and an active member of the local business community, died suddenly Tuesday near his home in North Carolina. He was 69. Daigle died in Charlotte, N.C., said his son Jeremy Daigle of Bucksport. Roy… Read More
    ATLANTA – Yolanda King, the firstborn child of the first family of the civil rights movement who honored that legacy through acting and advocacy, died late May 15. She was 51. The daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King died… Read More
    BRIDGEWATER – Officials in Aroostook County on Tuesday were mourning the unexpected death of former Aroostook County Sheriff Edgar Wheeler, who also served four consecutive terms in the Legislature as a state representative for District 143. Wheeler, 65, a former Bridgewater selectman who had just… Read More
    Paul E. Gervais, 64, of Brewer, the former owner and manager of Paul’s Restaurant and Speakeasy in Bangor, was remembered by his competition Monday as “a real gentleman and a hard worker.” Gervais died of cancer at his home on Monday. He was born March… Read More
    SOUTH PORTLAND – Charles Merrill, a former chief photographer for the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram, died TuesdayApril 24 at his home. He was 79. A Portland native, Merrill served in the Marines and attended Portland Junior College before beginning a 40-year career… Read More
    WATERVILLE – Robert Drake Sr. of Vassalboro, retired editor and assistant general manager of the Morning Sentinel of Waterville, died Friday. He was 92. Drake began his career in 1936 as a district reporter for the Sentinel’s sister newspaper, the Kennebec Journal of Augusta. He… Read More
    FAIRFAX, Va. – Mary Lee Bird Hathaway, wife of former U.S. Sen. William D. Hathaway of Maine, died of congestive heart failure April 4 in Fairfax, Va. She was 87. The Hathaways had been married for more than 61 years. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define… Read More
    AUGUSTA – State Rep. Abigail Holman, a former executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council, was remembered Sunday as a “tremendous political force” who was well-known around the State House. Holman, 45, died Saturday in a skiing accident at Sugarloaf USA in Carrabassett Valley. Read More
    TRESCOTT TOWNSHIP – A local man and longtime Surry resident passed away Sunday after devoting much of his adult life to Democratic causes. Don Furth was 82 years old. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
    PORTLAND – Paul D. “P.D.” Merrill, a businessman and civic leader who in 1982 developed one of the only privately owned cargo terminals on the East Coast, died Sunday after suffering a heart attack. He was 62. Merrill, who lived in Yarmouth, was remembered as… Read More
    ELLSWORTH – A former Ellsworth businessman, Ronald M. “Ronnie” Hanf, has died at his home in Spring Hill, Fla., after a long battle with cancer. Hanf, 77, died on Feb. 9. He was born in Ellsworth and, for 32 years before he retired, ran A.C. Read More
    PEMBROKE – Sid Bahrt, a man who believed that each of us is responsible for the health and well-being of the earth died Sunday at age 91. Bahrt’s firm commitment to the environment lasted until the day he died. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot… Read More
    BANGOR – The community is mourning the loss of a woman who touched many aspects of life here through her long career in volunteerism and public service, often involving music, history and her church, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bangor. Juliet (Spangler) Kellogg, wife of… Read More
    SOUTH BROOKSVILE – Phyllis Ames Cox, widow of Archibald Cox, the special prosecutor fired by President Nixon for refusing to curtail his Watergate investigation, died Tuesday after a long illness, a family friend and former press aide to her husband said. She was 93. Mrs. Read More
    ROCKLAND – Retired Coast Guard warrant officer Kenneth Black, known far and wide as “Mr. Lighthouse” and who was almost single-handedly responsible for the creation of the Maine Lighthouse Museum, has died. Black, 82, of Union passed away Sunday surrounded by family members and close… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Three centenarians, including one who may have been the state’s oldest resident, were among the notable Mainers who died in 2006. The year also saw the passing of Mount Desert resident Caspar Weinberger, who was a former Reagan Cabinet member, as well as several media figures… Read More
    LOS ANGELES – Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon’s scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America’s history, has died, former first lady Betty Ford said Tuesday. He was 93. “My family joins me in sharing… Read More
    BUXTON – Erwin Wales, who with his wife created a charitable foundation after winning a $41.1 million lottery jackpot, has died at the age of 75. Wales and his wife, Patricia, won the money in 2001 in the multistate Powerball lottery. Despite the riches, he… Read More
    BANGOR – Carl Edward “Buck” Buchanan, former Maine State Police detective and private investigator, was remembered as a tenacious worker at a memorial service Wednesday. Buchanan, 77, died unexpectedly on Saturday in Millinocket. Rev. Robert Carlson, chaplain of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, officiated at… Read More
    PORTLAND – David Redmond, a close aide and friend to former Gov. Joseph Brennan, died in Florida on Saturday night at age 74. Redmond met Brennan as a teenager growing up in Portland and went on to run his election campaigns for county attorney, legislator… Read More
    ORONO – Frances Hartgen was known around town as the wife of Vincent Hartgen, the larger-than-life impresario who founded the University of Maine’s art department. She didn’t mind. He was the love of her life, and friends say the couple were like newlyweds, even in their 80s. Read More
    AUBURN – Helen M. Bouley, who was a girl when the Wright Brothers took flight and the first Model T left the assembly line, has died at 106. Helen M. Bouley, was born in 1900 in South Portland, succumbed to pneumonia on Nov. 2 at… Read More
    Maine has lost a prominent businessman and philanthropist. Robert N. “Bunny” Bass recently died in Falmouth at the age of 89. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i… Read More
    BARTLETT, N.H. – Stoney Morrell, who ran the White Mountain attractions Story Land and Heritage New Hampshire, has died of cancer. He was 50. Morrell died Sunday, the same day Heritage New Hampshire closed its doors for good. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var… Read More
    AUGUSTA – Dan McGillvray, a staff reporter for the Kennebec Journal in Augusta, died Monday, nearly a year after he was diagnosed with cancer. He was 55. McGillvray, who lived in Vienna, Maine, died at his brother’s home in Quincy, Mass. He had been treated… Read More
    HOLDEN – Paul Gaucher, a retired Penobscot County sheriff’s deputy, was known for the 6-foot stuffed teddy bear in his patrol car. He was known for “pulling over” children who were riding their bikes and then giving them awards for wearing helmets. Most of all,… Read More
    LEWISTON – A funeral service will be held Thursday for Mary Goranites, an aunt of Sen. Olympia Snowe who raised her orphaned niece along with five children of her own. Goranites, who was 92, died Saturday at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    FALMOUTH – Richard Woodbury, a retired editor of the Portland Press Herald, Evening Express and Maine Sunday Telegram, died Sept. 12 at age 91. Woodbury began his journalism career as Portland Evening News correspondent for his junior high school and joined the news staff of… Read More
    CUSHING – Elisabeth Ogilvie, a prolific author best known for her colorful portrayals of Maine coastal and island life, died Saturday at her home in this midcoast town, 10 days after suffering a stroke. She was 89. A Boston native who vacationed in Maine and… Read More
    Francis Sleeper, a business reporter for the Portland Press Herald, Maine Sunday Telegram and Evening Express for nearly four decades, died Friday in Portland. He was 79. Sleeper, who died after a long struggle with prostate cancer, was a quirky, old-fashioned and hardworking newsman who… Read More
    AR RAMADI, Iraq – Another soldier from New Hampshire has died in Iraq. Spc. Matthew Evan Schneider of Gorham, N.H., died Monday, apparently of cardiac arrest, according to Maine Gov. John Baldacci, who spoke with Schneider’s father in Maine. The Pentagon said Schneider was not… Read More
    BOSTON – James A. Reed, a lawyer and investment banker who was a former assistant Treasury Secretary in John F. Kennedy’s administration, died Wednesday in Maine, his family said. He was 92. Reed and the future president became friends when they met on a troop… Read More
    BELFAST – Local journalist and longtime radio host David Piszcz, 54, died this week after a battle with cancer. Respected as a thorough newspaper reporter and admired as a radio personality for WERU-FM, Piszcz left a lasting impression on his community. With his long hair… Read More
    WASHINGTON – Monroe Romansky, an infectious-disease doctor who in the 1940s developed a beeswax-and-peanut oil formula that prolonged the duration of penicillin in the body, died Saturday at Sibley Memorial Hospital of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 95. Romansky’s Formula, as his discovery came… Read More
    William D. Blair Jr., a former reporter and State Department spokesman who was president of the Nature Conservancy, a land preservation organization, from 1980 to 1987, died Aug. 5 at his summer home in Vinalhaven, Maine. He was 79. He had multiple system atrophy, a… Read More
    A Winter Harbor native and philanthropist who gave away millions of dollars to charitable organizations in eastern Maine and southeastern Pennsylvania has died. Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. passed away Wednesday at Abington Memorial Hospital in suburban Philadelphia, according to hospital spokeswoman Lisa Durst. googletag.cmd.push(function ()… Read More
    PORTLAND – Margery Eliscu, a longtime newspaper columnist who found gentle humor in everyday life, has died following a long battle with cancer. She was 81. Eliscu, who died Thursday, wrote her “Coffee Break” column for the Maine Sunday Telegram for more than 23 years. Read More
    LINCOLN – One of Laura Jordan’s fondest memories of her friend John Weatherbee is his opening the doors at Ella P. Burr School’s gymnasium every Sunday morning to allow town youth to play basketball. Jordan couldn’t count the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of boys and girls… Read More
    MACHIAS – Helen Winslow loved cumulus clouds, coffee and a good exchange of handwritten letters. She loved the beach at Roque Bluffs, which may have reminded her of growing up on the bay in Jonesport, and spending summers on the backside of Great Wass Island. Read More
    CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Hugh Stubbins Jr., an architect who often used his cocktail napkins to sketch designs for buildings such as Manhattan’s Citicorp Center, Boston’s Federal Reserve Bank or Congress Hall in Berlin, has died. He was 94. Stubbins, who died Wednesday of pneumonia at… Read More
    BANGOR – A memorial service is scheduled for July 21 for Eugene Mawhinney, a former University of Maine political science professor and adviser to hundreds of students during his three decades at the Orono campus. Mawhinney, who was 84, died during the weekend at the… Read More
    A man who friends said could light up a room with his laughter died Sunday after a short battle with cancer. Former state Sen. Harry Vose, D-Meddybemps, was 79. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner… Read More
    BRUNSWICK – Charlene Rydell, a former legislator and congressional health policy adviser, died Thursday after a long battle with cancer. She was 64. Rydell, a Democrat, served five terms in the Maine House of Representatives, where she served on the Banking and Insurance Committee and… Read More
    MACHIAS – The man who had the vision and the energy to build the University of Maine at Machias’ Center for Lifelong Learning died last month. Former UMM President Paul E. Nordstrom was 69. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var… Read More
    HOULTON – Aroostook County District Attorney Neale Adams admitted Tuesday that he felt a tinge of fright when he first stepped in front of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court as a young lawyer back in the late 1970s. It was, after all, the first time… Read More
    HOULTON – As a bus driver, Leslie H. Van Tasel spent a chunk of his life shuttling people across the highways and byways of North America. It is only fitting that in death, he will be taken to his final resting place in the vehicle… Read More
    WHITNEYVILLE – Every holiday, Frances Grover’s daughter traveled from New Hampshire to be with her mother. For the last Fourth of July parade through Machias, Martha Gay and her husband watched Frances ride in a convertible on the 50th anniversary of the Rose M. Gaffney… Read More
    PORTLAND – Dick Johnson, a veteran radio newsman and a member of the Maine Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame, has died at the age of 69. Johnson, who worked for nearly 40 years as a radio anchor and reporter at WGAN AM, died Wednesday… Read More
    ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Roland Robidoux, the founder of a religious sect whose beliefs led to the starvation death of his grandson, was found dead in the sect’s home this week, police said. Robidoux, 65, was found dead after family members called police Tuesday afternoon. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    WOOLWICH – Paul A. MacDonald, a former Maine District Court judge and secretary of state, died Thursday at his home. He was 94. MacDonald was born in Jefferson and graduated from Cony High School in Augusta before attending Suffolk University Law School in Boston, where… Read More
    EDDINGTON – Firetrucks will lead the funeral procession for Arnold Grover, a 31-year veteran town firefighter and former chief, who died early Wednesday morning after a long illness. Grover was 70. “He was very active in this town for many, many years,” Town Manager Russell… Read More
    Brian C. Thayer, a former Bangor Daily News reporter and newspaper manager for mid-Maine newspapers and current president of Lavalley Lumber in Sanford, died April 9 in Falmouth. He was 57. The Kennebec Journal reported Thayer died of an apparent heart attack while playing basketball… Read More
    OLD TOWN – Eighty years after he started a local business that grew from its humble beginnings to become a prominent East Coast construction company, the founder of that firm has died. Herbert E. Sargent, who started H.E. Sargent Inc. in 1926, died peacefully Sunday… Read More
    Chances are the youngsters at Windover Art Center in Newburgh never knew that Thomas J. Abercrombie had been Newspaper Photographer of the Year or Magazine Photographer of the Year. But his trips to the Himalayas? To Fiji and the Matterhorn? Those they knew about. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
    “New England” Stones googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for (var i = 0; i < slot_sizes.length; i++) { if (isMobileDevice()) { if (slot_sizes[i][0] googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
    PORTLAND – Bruce McGorrill, who climbed the ladder from announcer at WCSH-TV to chief executive of Maine Broadcasting Systems, died Tuesday night at Maine Medical Center. He was 74. McGorrill was known for his commitment to journalism and public service. After his retirement in 1996,… Read More
    LEWISTON – Carlton “Bill” Spencer, a founding member of Maine’s first chapter of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club, died Tuesday of lung cancer. He was 63. Spencer discovered his passion for motorcycles when he traveled to California in the 1960s. After a few years out… Read More
    MOUNT DESERT – Caspar Weinberger may have been known as a tough politician in Washington, but when he visited his home in the village of Somesville, he quickly embraced Maine’s more laid-back lifestyle, friends and family members said. “We used to go up and down… Read More
    HOULTON – She was born one month before the first trolley bus became operational in New York City. Twenty-seven years later, she read about Charles Lindbergh becoming the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean, witnessed televisions become commonplace in homes in… Read More
    PORTLAND – Sarah Caldwell, hailed as the first lady of opera for her adventurous productions as longtime director of the Opera Company of Boston, died Thursday. She was 82. Caldwell died of heart failure at Maine Medical Center, according to Jim Morgan, her longtime friend… Read More
    BANGOR – The former city manager who led Bangor during some of its most turbulent but exciting times – including the conversion of the former Dow Air Force Base into the economic engine now known as Bangor International Airport – died Friday at the age of 82. Read More
    ST. ALBANS – While an investigation by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department is expected to wrap up this week, St. Albans is reeling over last Thursday’s loss of one of its most respected residents, Newman Gee. “This town was just so important to him,” Doug… Read More
    Joanne Jordan Van Namee, 82, chairperson of the Bangor Publishing Co. board of directors, died peacefully Wednesday in Bangor at the home of her son, Richard J. Warren, publisher of the Bangor Daily News. She was predeceased in 1984 by her husband, James F. Van… Read More
    STEUBEN – Although Donelson Hoopes was known for his gentlemanly manners, he was not a man about town in Steuben. He kept to himself, reading and writing about art and taking care of stray cats. He made weekly visits to the Milbridge Public Library to borrow old war… Read More
    BANGOR – A local woman, who was a principal owner of a prominent oil business founded by her grandfather and who served on the boards of many eastern Maine organizations, has passed away at a Rockport hospital. Louise “Jackie” Witham died March 4 at Penobscot… Read More
    EASTPORT – He was a pharmacist, respected community member and friend. Dana Fickett, who would have been 58 years old Thursday, died early Thursday morning after a battle with cancer. Fickett was a longtime fixture in this coastal community. He was born in Eastport and… Read More
    WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – After suffering a massive stroke Wednesday, Bangor businessman and philanthropist Larry Mahaney, the former chairman of the board and CEO of Webber Energy Fuels, died Sunday evening. At the time Mahaney was stricken, his family was with him in Florida… Read More
    BIDDEFORD – Maine’s political establishment joined in one voice to honor the memory of Lucien Dutremble, who served as mayor, city councilor, state representative and county commissioner during a political career that spanned six decades. Dutremble died Feb. 7 at his home. He was 83. Read More
    BAILEYVILLE – A woman who was a lifelong teacher – and for the past two years chairwoman of the school committee – died unexpectedly at her home Monday. Jean Spearin, 74, is being hailed as a great teacher, mentor and friend. googletag.cmd.push(function () { //… Read More