65591. Mary Elizabeth Saunders
Find-a-GraveMANCHESTER -- On July 11, 2007, Mary S. Dunham, 96, died peacefully at home surrounded by her loving children. She was born on Sept. 17, 1910, in Lewiston, the daughter of Ernest and Mary Saunders.
She was predeceased by a brother, Ernest; and a sister, Fanny.
After a seven-year courtship, she married her beloved husband, William H. Dunham, in 1938. A year later, they moved to Augusta, where her husband joined the legal department of Central Maine Power Co., later serving as its third president.
Mary Dunham was a loving mother of four rambunctious children as well as an enthusiastic caretaker of their menagerie of pets: Colonel the Crow, Coonsie the raccoon, Old Ironside the snapping turtle and an unexpected alligator in the bathtub! She was a devoted grandmother and great-grandmother, delighting in the diverse personalities and activities of her entire family.
An avid gardener, Mary was especially fond of tending her rose garden. She enjoyed fly-fishing, canoeing and participating in a bell ringing group. Mary was on the board of directors for the Home for Little Wanderers in Waterville for many years. At age 70, she climbed Mt. Katahdin. She loved to travel and at one time, at age 79, she backpacked with a granddaughter through France, staying at youth hostels. Other adventures with granddaughters were exploring the Wild West in a covered wagon, hiking the Milford Trek in New Zealand and traveling in Norway. Mary often said, "I never felt old at all until age 85!" Mary truly showed her family and friends the grace of life and the dignity of death.
Mary is survived by her children and their spouses, Bill and Deborah of Chesterville, Heidi of Los Angeles, Stella and Pat of Bristol and Tom and Sandi of Cape Elizabeth, plus seven grandchildren and five great-granddaughters.
Portland Press Herald (ME)
September 17, 1998William Henry Dunham, 88, a retired lawyer and utility executive and former president of Central Maine Power Co., Maine Yankee Power Co. and Maine Yankee Atomic Power Co., died Monday at his home after a long illness.
He was born in Alexander, a son of the Rev. William H. and Jennie Davis Dunham. His early years were spent in Alexander, Mars Hill, Franklin, Hampden, East Boothbay, Danforth and Dexter, where his father served as a Methodist minister.
He graduated from Bates College in 1932 and Cornell Law School in 1937, where he was editor of the Law Review.
He married Mary Elizabeth Saunders in 1938. They celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year.
In 1939 Mr. Dunham joined the legal staff of Central Maine Power at its headquarters in Augusta.
In 1952 he joined the management team as executive assistant to president William F. Wyman. He was promoted to president in 1962, following the death of Mr. Wyman. Mr. Dunham was an employee of Central Maine Power for nearly 37 years and was a director for 17.
He also served as president and as a director of the Electric Council of New England, director of three other nuclear power companies in New England, two Augusta banks and the Oxford Paper Co. in Rumford. The Maine Yankee plant was dedicated following its construction to Mr. Dunham, who served as its first president.
Mr. Dunham was often at the center of controversies surrounding the building of the Maine Yankee power plant, and electricity rates.
Former Gov. Kenneth M. Curtis once criticized Maine Yankee for not protecting the environment and requesting unreasonable rate increases. Mr. Dunham accused Curtis of having a ''personal vendetta'' against the electric industry.
His wife said Mr. Dunham was ''proud to be at the beginning of'' the planning and building of Maine Yankee, but he also knew it might ultimately meet resistance.
What he really would want to be remembered for, she said, was his ''character and his integrity.'' After retirement he spent a great deal of time with his grandchildren, attending sporting events.
Mr. Dunham served in Augusta city government for six years, helped organize the first Community Chest, now United Way, in 1955 where he also served as chairman. He played a pivotal role in rescuing the Edwards Cotton Mill in the 1960s, his family said. As a former Eagle Scout, he was an active supporter of the Boy Scouts, YMCA, the Methodist Church and Kiwanis Club.
He also was a trustee of Bates College for 36 years and, as one of the founders of Maine Public Television, represented the college on Maine Public Television's founding board of trustees.
In his retirement years, Dunham enjoyed hunting, fishing, canoeing, mountain climbing and cross-country skiing. When the Masters Track and Field organization was formed in 1975, he competed for 15 years in regional, national and world meets. He usually placed at or near the top in his five-year class for the high jump and javelin throw, his family said.
Surviving Mr. Dunham are his wife of Manchester; two sons, William H. Jr. of Kents Hill and Thomas B. of Yarmouth; two daughters, Mary Ann Dunham of Los Angeles and Stella Dunham Lydon of Newcastle; seven grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Owen was a preaching minister, called Parson Haskell. He served as a town selectman between 1898 and 1906. He was also an Assessor and Overseer of the Poor for several years. In 1900 Owen helped establish the Sweden Telephone Co.