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Orrin Leighton Worcester
Sept. 15, 1912 - Jan. 31,
2004
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Place of Birth:
Columbia, Maine, Washington
Times of Marriage: 1
Last name Of 1st. Spouse: Grant
Occupation: Farmer
Cause of Death: Old Age
Place of Death: Sunrise Care Facility
City of Death: Jonesport, Maine, US
Burial Place: Columbia Cemetery, Columbia, Maine, US
Citizen E Relatives: Grant Glenis
Muriel
Created By: Ronie Leighton Strout
Addison, Maine, USA
Ronie_L@yahoo
Relation: daughter
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 08:55:10 -0800 |
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Provider's Thoughts : |
Dad went to be with mom January 31, 2004. He died at Jonesport where he
was a patient at the Sunrise Care Facility.
Dad was born on September 15, 1912, the fifth child out of eight born to
his parents Ralph and Ronie (Leighton) Worcester at his home that he
lived in for 91 years in Columbia, Maine.
I was in on Friday morning and sat with him for over an hour holding his
hand. He knew that I was there and spoke to me that it was time for him
to go - that he was ready. I kissed him goodbye for the last time and
wished he would go peacefully and be with my mother who has been gone
for 12 years.
Dad was a very special person not because he was my father but because
he cared about me and he loved me. He gave me his mother's name, for
which I know was very special to him.
After growing up and moving out he always checked on me to make sure I
was okay. He said don't tell your mother that I was here, it is just
between the two of us. He would call me out of the blue, and say are you
doing okay?
I always tried to get him to talk about growing up in Columbia in a big
family and what he did for entertainment. He would talk some days and I
would write the stories down and record them to listen to later.
He told me once that he walked to Leeman Grant's home across the river
just to visit my mom when he was courting her. He said in those days the
river froze up and you could skate from Arti's Bridge right down to
Columbia Falls to the village. He said that one time he and his siblings
were sliding down Arti's Hill to the river on wooden runner sleds and he
ran into a pole and knocked himself out. For years after he would have
dizzy spells once in awhile and didn't know why until a few years ago
when he had been in the hospital after having a stroke. After some tests
the doctors said he must of hit his head quite hard at one time as it
showed up on the results. He supposed that was why he had those dizzy
spells, pieces of blood clots or something he said would break off just
enough to make him dizzy. He wondered at the time why he hadn't died
when one of those clots let loose. He was just lucky he guessed.
He loved to play cribbage and 83 with us children. He'd say on a cold
winter night "how about a game of cards kids?" We loved
playing cards with him sitting around the kitchen table. He would eat
apples during the games from the ones that he had put down cellar for
the winter. As we watched him he would peel the apples in one continuous
peel. This always amazed me as a child.
He also taught us to play cribbage and would beat us most every time.
He would talk about hunting, trapping, fishing and guiding hunters
during the different hunting seasons. He always got his deer every
season to put on the table. We grew up on wild meat and fresh salmon
from the river. We didn't really know how hard it was as we were just
children and knew that dad was looking out for us.
In late years dad would shoot a coyote out of his bedroom window and get
them every time. He was an excellent hunter.
To make a living he would trap beaver, muskrats, bobcats, and otters in
the winter and sell the pelts to fur buyers. As a child I would stand
and watch him prepare and stretch the beaver hides, then nail them to
the board in the evenings. I did not like the smell of that job but he
didn't seem to mind it as he was providing for his family. It was the
way in those days of making a living.
He would cut wood in the winter to sell and for the wood stoves we had
to provide heat for our home. He said he had to have at least 12 cord of
wood to get by in the winter months.
Dad told me that he was in charge of taking care of his mom who was
sick, and after that he was in charge of taking care of his siblings.
His mother asked him to make sure he took care of his brothers and
sisters and he did. He then went on and brought up his own seven
children. Later on when our mother was taken ill he took care of her
till the day she died.
They never did have an empty house, as we all left home one by one; some
of us would be back so they never were alone.
I came home with two small children and lived with them for five years.
before moving out again. My children called him "daddy" and to
this day he was "daddy" to the two older children. I remember
one time we took Michelle and Matthew to get an ice cream in Cherryfield,
some people that were there looked at me funny when Michelle ran up to
him and called him "daddy". That is how they will always
remember him as "daddy".
Dad was well known in town, he was the fire warden, constable and road
commissioner for many years. He was well known for his gardens, and the
surplus of food he always had in the fall to sell. People came from
miles around to get some of his home grown vegetables. He would grow
pumpkins for his grandkids with their names on them. Everyone far and
wide knew they could get a big pumpkin for Halloween at Orrin
Worcester's.
I remember the day when dad taught me to make biscuits one Christmas
morning when my mother was ill. I could hardly stir the ingredients as I
was probably about 10, not just a little batch but a very large batch.
Those biscuits came out just fine he said. I do know that we always
thought his sugar cookies were better than mom's was as he had just the
right touch in rolling them out. He knew how to cook for he had too
after his parents died.
Yes there are a lot of things I could say about him for he took care of
everyone else and never complained all of his 91 years of being with us.
His 7 children, 17 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and 8 step great
grandchildren will miss him. His parents, two infants, one grandchild
and our mom - Glenis (Grant) Worcester, predeceased him. His 4 sisters,
Doris, Hilda, Stella, and Elva and his 2 brothers, Ralph and Merrill
also predeceased him. One brother Oswald Worcester survives him.
Yes he will be missed when the phone doesn't ring and him asking me
"How you doing today, Ronie?"
I love you and I will miss you dad.
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