Rita E. Barter

Rita E. Barter, 76, of West Boothbay Harbor, died Wednesday, January 10 at her home.

She was born March 21, 1924 in Augusta, the daughter of Philip and Lillian White McLaughlin. She grew up in Augusta and graduated from Cony High School in the class of 1942.

She married Richard A. Barter in 1946.

She worked at the Hallowell Shoe Company for a brief period. She was a homemaker who loved being at home and with her family. She took in many children over the years to help them and bring them up. She also helped raise many of her grandchildren. She was an excellent cook.

Mrs. Barter was predeceased by her husband, who died in 1996, and also by a son, Jeffrey R. Barter, who died in 1994.

She is survived by a daughter Martha and her husband, Charles (Chip) Haggett, of West Boothbay Harbor; three grandchildren, Rae L. Barter of Boothbay Harbor, Heather M. Haggett and Richard (Ben) Haggett, both of West Boothbay Harbor; one daughter-in-law, Nancy Barter, of Boothbay Harbor; one sister, Barbara Bunnell, of Augusta; one brother, Paul McLaughlin, of Winthrop; two aunts, Marion Gracian of Gardiner and Edith Orff of Waldoboro; and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

The funeral service was held Saturday, January 13 at 1 p.m. at Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, Route 27, Boothbay. Al Roberts officiated. Burial followed in the Evergreen Cemetery in Boothbay.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Andrews Home Health, 3 St. Andrews Lane, Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.

Arrangements are by Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, 975 Wiscasset Road, PO Box 576, Boothbay, ME 04537.

Gertrude F. Brawn

Gertrude F. Brawn, 81, of Woolwich, died Saturday, January 13, at Sedgewood Commons in Falmouth.

She was born in Phippsburg on October 14, 1919, the daughter of Maurice and Vera (Bearce) Skillin.

She attended Morse High School and married Fred S. Brawn Jr. in 1940. Mrs. Brawn was employed at Congress Sportswear in Bath for 18 years and also cleaned homes for various residences in Woolwich.

She was especially proud of her four sons whom she raised as a single parent.

Mrs. Brawn was a member of the Days Ferry Canasta Club, the Woolwich Parent Teachers Association, the Woolwich Fire Department Auxiliary, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit #54 in Wiscasset and the Downeast Chapter of the Good Sam Camping Club.

She enjoyed camping, knitting, sewing, and making stuffed animals.

She was predeceased by her husband, Fred S. Brawn Jr. in 1985; one grandson, Raymond Brawn, in 1978; one brother, Elwin Skillin; and one sister, Dot Rice.

She is survived by four sons, Arthur S. Brawn and his wife Gloria of Woolwich, Robert B. Brawn and his wife Faith of Limerick, Allen L. Brawn and his wife Ruth of Wiscasset, and Charles W. Brawn and his wife Deborah of Wiscasset; three brothers, Erwin Skillin of Wiscasset, Orman Skillin of Woolwich, and Myron Skillin of Wiscasset; one sister, Grace Smith of Woolwich; 12 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and several nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A graveside service will be held in the spring at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Woolwich. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzeheimer's Association, Maine Chapter, 163 Lancaster Street, Portland, Me 04101.

Arrangements are by Mayo, Curtis & Hill Funeral Home, 819 High Street, Bath.

Carolyn S. Joy

Carolyn Schuyler Joy of Southport died peacefully at home with her family on Friday, January 12. She was 93.

Carolyn, born in 1907 in New York City, first traveled to Southport at the tender age of one month with her parents Clarence and Elizabeth Fletcher Joy. Shortly thereafter she was the first baby ever baptized at the new All Saints-by-the-Sea Chapel on Southport. The rest of her life was defined by these twin relationships to Southport Island and the Episcopal Church.

She went to school in Washington, D.C., La Jolla, California, and graduated from Barnard College in New York City. She worked as a librarian at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City. Later she became the personal assistant to Sir Norman Angell, an influential international writer and statesman of the mid-twentieth century. She always returned to Southport Island.

In her late 40s, her Southport neighbor Cora Gray taught her to drive and openend up a new life of travel for Carolyn. She drove around the island, the United States, and later sailed and flew all over the world. She made friends everywhere she went and corresponded with and visited many of them but always returned to the Gray Colony on Southport and her lifelong neighbors and friends the Grays, the Moses, the McLennans, and many others.

A life member of the All Saints-by-the-Sea Altar Guild, a member and supporter of St. Columba's in Boothbay during the winter, a member of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross since 1925, and the owner of hundreds, perhaps thousands of religious tracts and books (all read, some many times). She led a life based on her faith in God and her trust in friends.

She is survived by her cousins, the Bishops of Boothbay, and the Kimballs of Jefferson.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Y-ARTS Youth Chorus at the Boothbay Region YMCA, Townsend Avenue, Boothbay Heabor, ME 04538.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, January 19 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Columba's Episcopal Church, Boothbay Railway Museum, Route 27, Boothbay.

Paul E. Luke

Paul E. Luke died Monday, January 15 at St. Andrews Gregory Wing in Boothbay Harbor.

He was born July 1, 1912, the son of Joseph and Lizzie Luke.

He attended local schools and then went to work in the boatyards to learn the trade, establishing his own boatyard in 1937.

He was an honorary member of the Naval Architects and a member of the Cruising Club of America. He enjoyed his years as a former member of the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club and the Downeast Yacht Club.

Mr. Luke retired at the age of 75, credited with having launched 75 wooden boats and 24 aluminum boats. He was a member of the Maine Boatbuilders Hall of Fame and became well known in the yachting world.

He was a former member of the volunteer fire department and served as a selectman.

He married Verna Thurston in 1937 and raised three children, Peggy Miner of Barters Island, John P. Luke of East Boothbay, and A. Franklin Luke of East Boothbay. He is also survived by four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

A son, Dennis, predeceased him.

A private service will be held Saturday, January 20 at Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home at 11 a.m. Rev. Allan Wells-Goodwin will officiate. A celebration of his life will be held on July 1, 2001.

Arrangements are by Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home in Boothbay.

Dorothy G. Marson

Dorothy Grace Marson, 88, died Sunday, January 14 at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta after a brief illness.

She was born on September 5, 1912 in Mystic, Connecticut, the daughter of Charles C. and Clara Larrabee Marson. She attended the Broadway School in Mystic until moving with her parents to Boothbay Harbor in 1923. She took drawing courses in her Mystic, Connecticut school and was always interested in painting.

She attended school in Boothbay Harbor and graduated from Boothbay Harbor High School. During the early years she worked as a medical secretary and later at the local Western Union office. During World War II she was employed at the Frank L. Sample Shipyard.

She was an excellent archer, competing in Maine and New Hampshire and receiving many awards. She enjoyed her musical talent and her love of animals and was an early president of the Human Society.

She owned her own grocery store, which later became her Hillside Studio. She had been a student at the famous artist school in Westport, Connecticut and enjoyed all mediums, especially watercolors. She was an honored student at the school and this prompted her acceptance of an invitation by the local chamber of commerce to hold painting demonstrations at the New York Worlds Fair and display her work there as well as at the town's bicentennial art exhibit.

Due to failing health, she had resided at a private nursing facility in Jefferson.

She was predeceased by her brother, Charles Marson.

She is survived by a sister, Mary Abbott, of Wiscasset; and two nephews David Abbott of Alna and Charles Abbott of Wiscasset.

Burial will be held in the Oaklawn Cemetery in the spring.

Arrangements are by Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home, 975 Wiscasset Road, PO Box 576, Boothbay, ME 04537.

Emma E. O'Connor

Emma Elizabeth O'Connor, 92, of Sanibel, Florida and East Boothbay, died Wednesday, January 10, at St. Andrews Hospital.

Born June 4, 1908 in Duluth, Minnesota, she was the daughter of Carl and Elna Nystrom.

She graduated from Duluth Central High School and Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and then taught Latin, French, and English in the Duluth Public Schools for many years.

In 1939, she married Willis E. O'Connor, and they made Duluth their home until 1969. In the fall of 1969, Mrs. O'Connor and her husband began what would become a five-year retirement career as volunteers at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. While she taught and tutored in French and English, her husband handled a number of responsibilities in the college's business office.

In 1975, Mrs. O'Connor and her husband moved to Florida and began to divide their time between a home in Florida and a family cottage in Minnesota. Since 1987, Mrs. O'Connor and her husband had been regular visitors to East Boothbay, and they began spending summers with their son Robert and his family on Murray Hill Road in 1991. Mrs. O'Connor had taken an apartment at St. Andrews Village in the assisted living area this past June.

Mrs. O'Connor was active in several churches and faith-based organizations throughout her life, including Glen Avon Presbyterian Church in Duluth, where she taught Sunday school and the Sanibel Community Church, where she was one of its most senior, active members.

Gardeners at heart, she and her husband were always busy with yard work and planting; they enjoyed nature and spent many hours bird-watching and exploring nature preserves. They also pursued many of their historical interests through travel. Both were active supporters of land conservation and historical preservation organizations.

Mrs. O'Connor was predeceased by her husband, Willis; her sister, Mildred Jordan; and her brother, Paul Nystrom.

She leaves behind two sons, William James O'Connor of Middlebury, Vermont and Robert W. O'Connor of Boston, Massachusetts; two granddaughters, Dr. Geneve Allison of Oakland, California and Emma Gabrielle Halas-O'Connor of Boston, Massachusetts; and a nephew, Thomas Jordan of Duluth, Minnesota.

A memorial service is planned for the spring.

Arrangements are by Simmons, Harrington & Hall Funeral Home in Boothbay.

Carroll E. Skillin

Carroll E. Skillin, 59, of Wiscasset, died Saturday, January 13, at Miles Memorial Hospital in Damariscotta.

He was born in Damariscotta on December 16, 1941, the son of Elwyn F. and Jessie (Carlisle) Skillin.

He attended Woolwich and Wiscasset Schools. Carroll hurt his spine as a child and had been disabled since. He helped his mother and father operate Skillin's Roadside Garden Stand in Wiscasset.

He enjoyed stock car racing and traveled throughout the state attending races. Carroll also loved his daily routine of having coffee at McDonald's in Bath with several of his friends. He also liked watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

He was predeceased by his mother, Jesse Skillin on September 12, 2000, and by his father, Elwyn E. Skillin, on June 17, 1988.

He is survived by three uncles, Myron Skillin and his wife Alma of Wiscasset with whom Carroll has resided for the past 10 years, Erwin Skillin of Wiscasset, and Orman Skillin of Whitefield; one aunt, Grace Smith of Woolwich; and several cousins.

Visiting hours were held Tuesday at Mayo, Curtis & Hill Funeral Home where a funeral service was held on Wednesday, January 17, with the Rev. Floyd Carter officiating. Burial will be held at Forrest Hill Cemetery in Dresden in the spring. Memorial contributions may be made to the Arthritis Foundation, Maine Chapter, PO Box 486, Westbrook, ME 04098 or to the Ronald McDonald Foundation.