Ellsworth
Richard E. Carlisle Sr. died Monday, Oct. 24, at a local hospital following a period of declining health. He was born at the Hagen Hospital in Lamoine on Jan. 12, 1930, the oldest son of Harold E. and Theresa (Cook) Carlisle.
Dick, as he preferred to be called, lived in Ellsworth Falls until 1940 when the family moved to State Street in Ellsworth. He graduated from Ellsworth High School in 1947. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1950, was honorably discharged in 1954 and then served four years in the Naval Reserve. Dick would have liked to serve longer in the reserves but every time he shipped out the girls got sick, once both having pneumonia at the same time. Mrs. Carlisle put her foot down.
Dick and his best pals Johnny Fox and Bill Sargent were always on a big adventure growing up in North Ellsworth. One Saturday, Bill and Dick took the family pony and a cart full of gear and camped out on Graham Lake. A furious thunderstorm woke them to find that the pony had jumped ship and left for home. The two boys walked the 10 miles back to town taking turns hitched to the cart. Often up to no good, Dick and Johnny got a good thrashing when their parents discovered they were the two boys who had broken every window in an unoccupied neighborhood house. After the first rock hit its mark, it was just too much fun to stop. Dick could get in trouble on his own too; like the time he teased his sister Shirley until she threw a butcher knife at him. He missed his first shave getting the bedroom door shut in the nick of time.
Dick’s Navy years were transformational. He traveled the Mediterranean aboard the U.S.S. Tarawa and told riotous stories of life on the aircraft carrier and shore leave. For all the hijinks, practical joking and roustabouting he still received the European Occupation, Korean War and NATO Defense service medals and a good conduct ribbon. Not only did he travel extensively he met his future bride, Rose Lee Doucet, while on leave in Arlington, Va. He and Rosie married in 1952, just three weeks after they met, staying hitched 64 years.
Dick started a construction company in 1955 with Rose Lee as the bookkeeper and bill collector. He had learned the ropes working with his father, who owned a shovel and crane business in the 1940s. Often working seven days a week in the summer months, in the early ’70s they added a snowmobile sales and service business to fill the year with work to better support the family. He also was a welder and fixer of odd things. Folks came from far and wide to have him weld expensive heirlooms and treasured tchotchkes. In his spare time, he built birdhouses, Maine state clocks with hand-painted chickadees and a host of other whimsical items, some useful, most not. Sundays found the family riding around Hancock County scouting out construction jobs, windows up, parents smoking, kids choking in the back seat.
Dick was a proud member of Lygonia Masonic Lodge, Eastern Star, Hancock County Shrine Club and Anah Temple. He was an able-bodied Ruffian in the ceremony inducting Masonic members and many remember him, probably not fondly. Some stories are best left untold. He was a police reserve officer for the city of Ellsworth for several years. His kids behaved extra well during that time.
When his beloved Rosie passed away in 2016, he often referred to his life as a lonely one but a good one. He sheepishly admitted that he hadn’t known how hard housework was. He cheerfully assumed those duties. Planning and preparing three square meals a day kept his mind and hands busy. Luckily, he knew how to cook. As a high-schooler it was his job to cook dinner for his mother, who worked until 5 o’clock, and his younger brother Arden. He was a line cook in the Navy. He had many good friends and, until the pandemic, lots of visitors. There was always a cold PBR for anyone who stopped by. After years of hard work his body became increasingly wracked with pain. Stiff from arthritis, but still driven to create and build, he became the “geriatric MacGyver.” His house was filled with creative, elaborate and odd workarounds to everyday tasks. He got by.
Dick was predeceased by his parents, his sister Shirley Nelson and his brother Arden (Tuffy) Carlisle. He leaves behind three children who appreciate the work ethic he instilled in them: Terry Carlisle and partner Gary Frost, Phyllis Young and husband, Reg, all of Ellsworth, and Rick Carlisle and wife, Louie, of Portland. Four grandchildren: Jennifer Guibord (Garth) of Portland, Ore., Emily Nelson (Patrick) of West Bath, Griffin Carlisle and Jed Carlisle of Portland, Maine. Four great-grandchildren: Dexter and Emmett Guibord of Portland, Ore., and Harper and Andie Nelson of West Bath.
Funeral services will be held at Bragdon-Kelley Funeral Home, 215 Main St., Ellsworth on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at 1 p.m. A military service will be followed by a masonic service. A reception will follow. At Richard’s request, contributions may be made to Anah Temple Shrine, 1404 Broadway, Bangor, ME 04401 or Lygonia Lodge No. 40, 21 Carriage Road, Ellsworth, ME 04605.