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Arthur Kenneth Groppe
Arthur Kenneth Groppe , 70, of York Harbor, died Friday, Feb. 21, 2003, while visiting Pompano Beach, Fla., after a brief illness.
He was born in Chicago, attended Kent State University and Ohio State University.
He was commissioned in the USMC, stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., for five years.
He was a member of the Lions Club of York for the past several years, a member of York Handcrafters, York Senior Center, and the York/Ogunquit United Methodist Church.
He was predeceased by a brother, Charles Burnham of Chicago, and by a sister, Priscilla Burnham, of California.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, Carrie (Shaw) Groppe of York Harbor; two sons, Blaine Arthur Groppe of Ayer, Mass., and Robert Kenneth Groppe of Boston; a daughter, Mrs. Paul (Dianne) St. Denis of York; two loving grandchildren, Michael Paul St. Denis and Hannah Marie St. Denis of York; a sister, Joyce Taylor of Sarasota, Fla.; a brother, William Groppe of Scottsdale, Pa.; several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 9 at the York/Ogunquit United Methodist Church, followed by a gathering of family and friends at American Legion Post 56, at 135 Long Sands Road, York.
Olga Peers
Judge Olga Sapp Peers, died Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003, after a long battle with ovarian cancer.
Mrs. Peers, known to family and friends as "Mom," came from humble beginnings and flowered into a pillar of her community. The only child of French immigrants Laurent and Julienne Sapp, she was born Jan. 10, 1919, in Lawrence, Mass., into a community of French-Americans. Her father was farsighted and ahead of his time in that he encouraged his daughter (his "little pomme") to complete college and become self-sup-porting.
Mrs. Peers attended Salem State Teachers College and Tufts University, where she received her degree. She taught grades one through eight in a one-room schoolhouse in Maine, before heeding the call to serve her country by joining the Navy in World War II, where she served as a lieutenant. After the war, she moved to Louisville, Ky., with her husband, Milburn, and their first child, where she worked with her husband in his law practice. She soon discovered her love for the profession and pursued a law degree from the University of Louisville.
Mom described her experience by saying, "I practiced law with my husband, who would make the court appearances, while I did all the preparation and research. After his death in 1970, I found that I had no trouble making court appearances. In fact, I rather enjoyed them."
In 1972, Judge Benjamin Shobe appointed Mom to the old Louisville Police Court, and then later, under the judicial reform, she was elected to the District Court. Mom enjoyed the legal profession and having proven herself to be a pioneer among women, she again achieved another first in 1978, when she became the first female Circuit Court Judge in Kentucky. Mom remained on the circuit court bench until her retirement in 1990, Groundhog Day to be precise.
When Gov. Wilkinson appointed her as a trustee of the University of Louisville in 1992, she accepted the position with great joy. Mom had served the university in many ways, but in this capacity she helped guide the university through many endeavors, including the search for a university president and football coach. She was a mentor to student athletes and helped the university find ways to make equality for female sports a reality. At the end of her term as university trustee, the university appointed her to many other positions and committees, including a position on the Athletic and the University Hospital Boards.
Recreationally, she enjoyed her beloved Boston Red Sox and all U of L teams, especially basketball. She attended all basketball, football and volleyball home games and traveled with the teams to numerous away games around the country and world.
While Louisville had become home, Mom continued to return to York Beach for many years, where she enjoyed summers filled with blueberries, lobsters, Goldenrod Kisses and the lighthouses, all set to the sound of the ocean.
She is survived by two first cousins; her children, Lauren Claypool, Michele Peers, Kara Peers, Milburn Peers Jr., Lynn Welch and Deanna Ramsey; and six grandchildren.
Funeral Home, 149 Breckenridge Lane, Louisville, from 2 to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday. Her funeral service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Judge Peers had always stated that expressions of sympathy should take the form of donations to the University of Louisville.
Albert W. Ayotte
Tech. Sgt. Albert W. Ayotte, USAF (Ret.), 83, of 44 Main St., York Beach, died Tuesday, March 4, 2003, at York Hospital.
He was born on July 8, 1919, in Lewiston, the son of Emile J. and Rose (Tardiff) Ayotte, and attended Lewiston schools.
Mr. Ayotte had served in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years. He had served during World War II, the Korean conflict and the Vietnam War. After retiring from the military he worked as a metalsmith in Shop 17 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard for 14 years.
He was a communicant of St. Christopher-by-the-Sea Church of York. He was active in raising funds for the church when it was built in 1971. He had served on the CYO at Star of the Sea Church in York Beach and made items for the church bazaar.
Mr. Ayotte was a member of the VFW Boardman-Ellis Post 6997. He was also an avid golfer and was a lifetime member of the former Cape Neddick Golf Club and the Highland Farms Golf Club.
He was predeceased by his wife, Venise (Lambert) Ayotte, who died in 1990.
Survivors include two sons, Lee Ayotte of Mountain Home, Idaho, and Ted Ayotte of York Beach; four daughters, Suzanne Carpenter of San Antonio, Texas, Nora Bailey of Wrentham, Mass., Janet Ayotte of Dover, N.H., and Amy Tyler of South Berwick; one sister, Annette Richards of Lewiston; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandson.
A Mass of Christian burial was held Saturday in St. Christopher Church, York, with Interment Monday in the Old Maine Veterans Cemetery, Augusta. Memorial donations may be made to the York Hospital Building Fund, 15 Hospital Dr., York, ME 03909.
Mary J. Brown
Mary J. (Massicotte) Brown, 96, of Harbor Home, York, formerly of 155 York St., died Thursday, March 6, 2003, at Harbor Home.
Born on June 16, 1906, in Franklin, N.H., she was the daughter of Clair and Georgianna (Flileault) Massicotte. She attended St. Mary’s Parochial School and was a 1924 graduate of Franklin High School.
After her graduation she worked in the Office of Personnel as a cost accountant for G.W. Griffin Hack Saw Company. She later became a bookkeeper and partner with her husband of the Western Auto in Camden, which they owned for 15 years.
She was a communicant of St. Christopher-by-the-Sea Church of York.
She had formerly lived in Camden and Sanford before moving to York in 1982.
She was predeceased by her husband of 59 years, Clifford M. Brown, who died in 1988.
Survivors include two daughters, Barbara Patten of York, and Carol A. Northrup of Kingston, N.Y.; four grandchildren, and seven great-granddaughters.
Visiting hours will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday at the Lucas & Eaton Funeral Home, 91 Long Sands Road, York, Maine. A funeral service was held Monday at the Lucas & Eaton Funeral Home, York. Graveside service will be held in the spring in the First Parish Cemetery, York. Memorial donations may be made to the York Volunteer Ambulance Association, P.O. Box 238, York, ME 03909.
Peter L. Bryant
Peter L. Bryant, 38, of Alpendorf Road, Readsboro, Vt., died Tuesday evening, March 4, 2003, at his residence.
He was born in Portsmouth, N.H., on Jan. 10, 1965, and was the son of Dale Bryant and Harriet (Larson) Bryant. He had previously lived in Maine and North Adams, Mass.
Mr. Bryant had been employed as an investment specialist with Metropolitan Insurance Company. He was a member of the Moose Lodge and the Elks Lodge, both in Greenfield, Mass., and the Readsboro Lions Club. He enjoyed deep sea fishing off the coast of Maine, and camping.
Mr. Bryant is survived by his father, of York; his mother, of Alna; his former wife, Lisa Bryant of Rowe, Mass.; his son, Peter Bryant of Rowe; his daughter, Capri Bryant of Rowe; two sisters, Rebecca Bryant of Bristol, Conn. and Annmarie (Bryant) Chabot of Lewiston; his grandmother, Martha Werler of Damariscotta; an aunt and uncle, Deborah and Ralph Heil of Bath, N.Y., and an aunt, Margaret Bryant of Jacksons Point, Ontario, Canada
; two nephews, Corey Bryant and Richard Page, and two nieces, Brianna Page and Ariel Hackett. He is predeceased by one uncle, Allan Bryant.
Funeral services and Interment will be held privately at the convenience of the family. There are no calling hours scheduled.
Memorials in his honor may be made to the support of his children, through Lisa Bryant, in care of the Covey and Allen Funeral Homeat P.O. Box 215, Wilmington, VT 05363. To offer e-mail condolences, visit www.nsm.org/covey.
Samuel J. Morganelli
Samuel J. Morganelli, 76, of York Beach, formerly of Chelsea, Mass., died suddenly March 5, 2003, at York Hospital.
Mr. Morganelli was born in Boston. He was a World War II Army veteran. He was a retired food preparer with Sky Chef for American Airlines, where he worked for 15 years.
He was the beloved husband of Sally E. (Castellano) Morganelli; dear and devoted father of Michael Morganelli and his wife, Christine, of Lynn, Mass., and Paul Morganelli of Las Vegas, Nev.; brother of Olivia Russo of North Quincy., Mass., Rose Coakley of Abington, Mass., Nicholas Morganelli of Dorchester, Mass., Silvio Morganelli of Somersworth, N.H., and the late Angelina Campo, Angelina Molinari, Florence Hutchins and Carmella Coffua; loving grandfather of Ashley, Courtney, Antonio and Giovanni Morganelli.
A funeral was held Monday at the Caffasso and Sons Funeral Home, Everett, Mass., with funeral Mass held in Our Lady of Grace Church, Everett-Chelsea, with Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the American Diabetes Association, 1 Bromfield St., Boston, MA 02108.
George Sotiriadis
George Sotiriadis, 83, of York Harbor, and Palm Harbor, Fla., and formerly of Arlington, Mass., fell asleep in the arms of the Lord on March 7, 2003, at York Hospital after a lengthy illness.
He was married for 59 years to Eleni (Saridakis) Sotiriadis. He was predeceased by his son Kosmas, who was killed as a young child during the Greek Civil war. He is survived by three children: Crystal Kyricos and her husband Arthur of York Harbor, Steven Sotiriadis and his wife Pamela of Hampstead, N.H., and Marilyn Zotos and her husband Fotios of York. Grandfather of Efthemia Kyricos; Georgina Kyricos Brodsky and her husband Matthew; Kathryn Kyricos Fontaine and her husband Aaron; Jacob Sotiriadis; Aaron Sotiriadis; George Zotos; Alexander Zotos; and Eleni Zotos. He was blessed last June with the arrival of twin great-grandchildren Lily Amalia and Dillion James Brodsky.
George Sotiriadis, an energetic, bright, but simple man to whom family was always his first priority, lived an incredible amount of history during his 83 years. An ethnic Greek, he was born outside of Constantinople, Turkey, on May 21, 1919. At the age of 2, he and his family were forced to flee Turkey and go to Greece as refugees following World War I.
Receiving no remuneration for their home and business, his family settled in the small village of Kaloneri in northern Greece with the clothes on their backs and had to become farmers to survive. With an elderly father who could not keep up with the demands of farming, George was not allowed to pursue formal education past the sixth grade in order to work.
George served in the Greek Royal Army during the Italian invasion of Greece during World War II and also fought against the Germans upon their invasion. His marriage was an arranged one, as was typical of the time period, to a young 16-year-old village girl, Eleni Saridakis in 1944. His son Kosmas was born a year later.
During the Greek Civil War, George and his family lived in constant fear, caught in the middle of political ideologies that destroyed any sense of normal existence. Beatings, jailings, forced into service under the threat of death by both political factions, was the typical existence for the men of the small villages of northern Greece. He and Eleni lost their son during this war when a drunk soldier’s stray bullet killed their firstborn at the age of 2.
Years of war and fear took their toll and they decided to leave all they worked so hard for during 10 years of marriage, and come to America where their family could live in peace.
With two small children, the equivalent of $30, two suitcases and no ability to speak any English, George and Eleni came to America in 1954. They settled in Arlington, Mass., and began to build a life where everything was so foreign, yet they knew freedom and opportunity was abundant. Their youngest daughter was born in America and shortly thereafter the entire family became American citizens.
Both George and Eleni worked various factory jobs around Boston. He worked at a rubber manufacturing factory, shoe and garment factories - any job that could provide enough to survive. George was trained as one of the original Dunkin’ Donut doughnut bakers, a job he enjoyed for several years. Offered a franchise to buy because of his hard work, he had to turn it down after he developed pulmonary issues related to working with flour.
He pursued other work, always looking to ensure his family’s future. Later he worked for the American Union News, and as a maintenance worker at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) both in Cambridge and at the testing facility at the Hanscom Field Flight Facility. He nearly always worked two jobs to provide the best he could for his family. In the 1970s he bought and ran the Carbarn Snack Bar at the end of the MBTA bus line in Arlington Heights.
Upon a well-deserved retirement, he and Eleni enjoyed much of the year in their residence in Florida, always spending summers with their children and grandchildren in Cape Cod and York.
Although he loved Greece, George always felt his life only prospered when he came to America. He felt that his family was afforded many blessings in this country where his children could be raised safely, could achieve fine educational achievements he was not allowed to, and could practice their faith freely and without judgment.
George passed away surrounded by his closest family members; his wife, his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. On the afternoon before his passing, he made a gesture he was famous for and for which he will always be remembered. He waved his arms full of love and emotion around the hospital room and said, "You see all these people? This is my family. This is my million dollars." George was a one in a million to his family, his community and his heritage. His investment will last a lifetime.
Funeral services were held on Monday at the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, Portsmouth, N.H. Donations may be made to the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church Memorial Fund.
Martin O. "Oley" Ulan
Martin O. "Oley" Ulan, 57, of Roundhill Home, Roundhill Street, Biddeford, formerly of York Street, York, died Sunday, March 9, 2003, at Evergreen Manor in Saco.
He was born in Newark, N.J., on June 5, 1945, the son of Martin S. and Gladys (Olsen) Ulan and attended Essie Abell School and Hackensack, N.J., public schools. He later attended the American Institute of Mental Studies in Vineland, N.J., learning life skills.
Oley worked as a wood cutter at Creative Works Systems in Biddeford, a subsidiary of Maine Woodworkers of Saco, where he used his skills taught to him at the institute in New Jersey. He tried to attend work each day throughout his illness.
He was a member of the Anchor Baptist Church in Biddeford. He enjoyed reading the Bible and listening to Opera at the Met on the radio. Oley had the ability to tell a person the day of the week on which they were born when given their date of birth. He especially enjoyed gatherings with his family and friends. Oley constantly struggled with challenges that life sent his way.
He was predeceased by his father, Martin S. Ulan, who died March 30, 1995.
Survivors include his mother, Gladys (Olsen) Ulan of York Beach; a sister, Mardys C. Leeper of Wynewood, Pa.; two nieces, Lauren Yattaw of Providence, R.I., and Monica Brooke of Bryn Mawr, Pa.
A funeral will be held Thursday in the Anchor Baptist Church, Foss and Pool streets, Biddeford. Visiting hours are Wednesday, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Lucas & Eaton Funeral Home, 91 Long Sands Road, York. Memorial donations may be made to the Creative Work Systems, 5 Lund Road, Saco, ME 04072, or to the Anchor Baptist Church, P.O. Box 945, Biddeford, ME 04005.
