LAMOINE
Sunday, July 14, 2019, was a glorious day — heat, wind, sun and roving rain storms — and with tears and smiles, the heavens welcomed Mary Ann Holt Orzel home.
The ever-capable descendant of sea captains, she preferred modesty, and possessed a ferocious work ethic.
Born in Ellsworth on July 19, 1933, to Mildred Leland Holt and Frank Dana Holt, she grew up on a salt-water farm in Lamoine, and in the cornfields of Webster City, Iowa. She attended Grinnell College, and earned her BA at UNH.
Her interest in fine art led her to Brooklyn and Pleasantville, N.Y., where she devoted herself to renovations and raising a family.
Hailed as a great cook, and regularly recruited for chaperone duties, she was a favorite with the kids. Her love of nature was infectious. She swam, ran, skied, windsurfed, rafted rivers, backpacked, kayaked and canoed the Allagash. Much to the amusement of bystanders, little delighted her more than the intimacy of a rare skinny-dip.
A skilled crafter, she wove intricate fabrics, quilted, knit, sewed and refinished just about everything in sight. She went on to earn a Masters in Special Education while raising a family and moonlighting.
Her return to Maine brought more renovations, teaching for the town of Hancock, serving on Lamoine’s Town Planning Board and managing the Cold Spring Water Co.
Her vegetable garden was a source of pride. Until her final day Mary Ann enjoyed the home that she designed and built on the banks of the Jordan River. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, cats and hens.