Avis de décès de Dorothy-Parsons Whitten - Nécrologie - MesAieux.com

AUGUSTA -- Dorothy Parsons Whitten, active in the Augusta community for more than 35 years, died at her home in Augusta on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, of congestive heart failure. She was 94. Dottie was born on May 6, 1911, in Medford, Mass., the daughter of Maine natives William Lewis Parsons of New Portland and L. Rae Bryant of Pittsfield, who had been classmates at Bates College. Dottie grew up in Winchester, Mass., but always spent her summers at the family homestead in New Portland. She was salutatorian of the 1928 class at Winchester High School. Dottie graduated from Vassar College in 1932, majoring in mathematics, then completed Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School. During her professional career, she worked as a secretary at several companies in Boston and New York, retiring as executive secretary of the New England Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In addition, wherever she lived, she contributed to church and community organizations, made lifelong friends, and kept close ties with family.In 1940, she married Brooklyn chemical engineer Harrison Banks Simpson, and they lived and worked in Connecticut, then in Massachusetts, settling in Winchester in 1945. Their two children were born in 1944 and 1946, respectively. Harrison died suddenly of leukemia in 1947. Four years later Dottie remarried, and she and her husband, Frank E. Guilfoil Sr., lived with his family in Utica, N.Y., then in the nearby village of Holland Patent. She returned to Winchester when they divorced in 1961. In 1969, Dottie married Augusta civil engineer Charles Albert Whitten, head of the bridge department at the State Highway Commission, and moved to Augusta, where she again became an active participant in community affairs, formed lasting friendships, and enjoyed particularly close connections with family. She joined the Early American Glass Club, serving for a time as its secretary and president. She and Charles co-founded "The Clan," an organization of State Highway Commission/Department of Transportation retirees and their spouses.She was particularly active in South Parish Congregational Church, serving as deacon, and as a member of Church Council and the Ladies Guild, as well as contributing to numerous fundraising and social events. Continuing to spend summers in New Portland, Dottie and Charles maintained and renovated the family homestead, frequently hosted gatherings of extended family and friends, and supported community projects and organizations. Dottie was an early member of the Stanley Museum in Kingfield, and served on its board. In her mid- '70s, she introduced the museum to the computer age, buying and learning how to use her first computer in order to assist the museum with data and clerical tasks. She was also one of the founding trustees of the Community Library in New Portland, working with others in the community on its creation and development.She is survived by her two children, Anita Rae Simpson of Cambridge, Mass., and William Bryant Simpson and his partner, Bee Fortin, of Waltham, Mass.; three grandchildren who are the children of Anita Rae, Maia Beth Goodell of New York City, and William Ross Goodell and Theodore Wilson Goodell, both of Somerville, Mass.; her two stepsons, Robert P. Whitten of New Portland and his partner, June Ryder, of Portland, and Donald L. Whitten and his wife, Faye, of Augusta; five granddaughters who are the children of Donald and Faye, Susan Romero of Orono, Barbara Bachman of Augusta, Debora Whitten of Augusta, Rebecca Whitten and her husband, James Plourd, of Gardiner, and Sarah Whitten and her husband, Daniel Schlaefer, of Orono; and two great-grandchildren, Daniel Bachman of Augusta and Rachel Romero of Orono.The family wishes to thank the committed and skilled caregivers who made it possible for Dottie to spend her last months at home as she had wished, in particular Judy Sounier, Tina Brann and Maggie Bartlett, as well as the staff of HealthReach Hospice.A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 22, at South Parish Congregational Church, 9 Church St., with the Rev. Bruce Forbes officiating. Burial will be in the spring in Wildwood Cemetery, Winchester. Memorial donations, in lieu of flowers, may be made to: New Portland Community Library, 899 River Road, New Portland, ME 04961.Arrangements are in the care of Knowlton & Hewins Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 1 Church St., Augusta, ME 04330.http://www.khrfuneral homes.com