ELLA (BLAISDELL) RAYNER

BUCKSPORT – Ella (Blaisdell) Rayner passed away peacefully Sept. 4, 2007, in her sleep. She was born Dec. 16, 1919, in Bucksport, the daughter of Austin and Grace (Moores) Blaisdell. Ella graduated from Quincy High School, Quincy, Mass. In 1974 she returned to her beloved state of Maine. She worked as a licensed practical nurse at Wrentham State School, Massachusetts, the Penobscot Nursing Home and Colliers Nursing Home. She enjoyed raising a variety of animals, goats, sheep and bees and gardening. Some of her favorite activities included, traditional crafts such as spinning, weaving and knitting. She was an avid reader of history, politics, fine literature and poetry. Walking on the beautiful Bucksport waterfront gave her great joy. She was a member of the Bucksport Senior Resource Committee and the force behind the campaign for clear winter sidewalks. The Ella B. Rayner Golden Shovel Award recognizes her dedication to the enhancement of life for the elderly of Bucksport. The establishment of a full service assisted living facility in Bucksport was her most recent endeavor. She attended the Bucksport Evangelical Baptist Church. She is survived by her daughters and their spouses, Ruth and Robert Gomes of Bucksport and Barbara and Gerald Wood of Byfield, Mass.; eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and two great-stepgrandchildren, Jennifer (Wood) and her husband, Ethan Gordon, and their daughter, Abigail Gordon, Heather Wood, Kimberly (Gomes) and her husband, Todd Allen, and their children, Nicholas and Ashten Allen, Paul “PJ” Gomes, Leigh Thornhill and her husband, Scott Gunner, Chuck Rayner, Shelly (Rayner) and her partner, Anthony Jackson, and their son, Ethan Jackson, and Jason Rayner. Ella leaves her beloved cat and companion, Frosty. Ella was predeceased by her husband, Frederick E. Rayner Sr.; son and daughter-in-law, Frederick E. Rayner Jr. and his wife, Linda (Graves) Rayner; and her son, William G. Rayner. A celebration of Ella’s life will be held 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 7, at Mitchell-Tweedie Funeral Home, 28 Elm St., Bucksport, where a service will be held 11 a.m. Friday with Pastor Michael Donato officiating. Interment will be at Morgan Bay Cemetery, Surry. Donations in Ella’s memory may be made to Buck Memorial Library Building Fund, P.O. Box DD, Bucksport, ME 04416.