SURRY
Marjorie Mae (Somers) Saunders passed away at local hospital on Aug. 19, 2019. She was surrounded by the loving hearts and gentle hands of her family. She was born in her family’s home in Monroe on April 5, 1939. Her eldest sister, Geneva, recalls hearing her first cry the night she was born and her sister Charlene asked, “Where is the duck?”
Marge or Muggs, as she was called by friends and family, was a diligent and industrious woman. She was always ready to lend a hand or support to those in need. She graduated from Higgins Classical Institute in 1957 and married her soulmate Wilbur Addison Saunders on Oct. 19, 1957. She loved her family and often did not look out for her own needs, instead giving of herself to give them a better life. She was a woman of strong opinion and would correct her children with just a glance. Her first job was making jelly donuts, having to walk across Bangor to get to work. She had a passion for a game of cribbage or Scrabble.
When she moved to Surry to live, she instantly fell in love with the family homestead. She enjoyed picking blueberries and blackberries for pies and muffins. She filled the home with pets, both cats and dogs. She found great comfort from her pets. She and Wilbur enjoyed taking trips to the Maritimes with children and by themselves. She was very proud of her French and Irish heritage from Quebec and New Brunswick provinces. In the early 1950s, she helped her mother, Phoebe, study for her American citizenship. She worked in the medical field around Ellsworth for nearly 40 years for several doctors, retiring in 2014. She was very active in the community as a member of the Grange, Surry Community Improvement Association, Surry Historical Society, Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation Committee and a former Hancock County Republican committeewoman.
She loved to walk the family land at the head of Toddy Pond in Surry and Blue Hill, searching for blackberries and loons or simply sitting down by “The Ice House” at the mouth of Sandy Brook. Though scared of the water, she would canoe on the lake doing loon counts. One of her many adventures was a canoe trip with other ladies in northern Maine along Chesuncook Lake. Other travels with Wilbur included a trip to the Soviet Union in 1989 as guests of the Surry Opera Company. The trip ended with a week in Ireland, where she proudly kissed the Blarney Stone and discovered her heritage.
She is survived by her husband of nearly 62 years, Wilbur; sister Geneva Allen; and children Crystale (Chris) Casey, Patricia (Pat) Saunders, Ethel Salinas, Wilbur (Bub) Saunders and Mary Chace as well as 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. She leaves behind to comfort her husband, three cats, Jenny, Hairy and Miss Kitty.
There will be a potluck celebration of her life at the Surry Volunteer Fire Department on the North Bend Road in Surry from noon until 2 p.m. Aug. 24, 2019, followed by burial of her ashes at the Cunningham Ridge Cemetery in Surry. All are invited. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in Marjorie’s memory to the SPCA of Hancock County, 141 Bar Harbor Road, Trenton, ME 04605.
Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St. Ellsworth. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.