GLENBURN and CORINTH -John Mervin McLaughlin, 92, the husband of Lorraine (Roach) McLaughlin, died Dec. 14, 2003, at a Bangor hospital surrounded by his loving family. He was born Sept. 6, 1911, in Chapman, the son of Merton A. and Nellie (Shorey) McLaughlin. He attended local schools, and graduated from Mapleton High School in 1929 and Houlton’s Ricker College in 1932. John was married to Helen (Buck) at her family residence in 1934. He worked the home farm and in the woods with his father and brothers for a few years, until relocating in York County in 1936 where he continued farming and lumbering and also worked several years in a Portland shipyard. He bought a small farm in Corinth at the end of World War II, settling there with his wife and now five children. While on the farm, John also served as substitute mail carrier, as a member of the school board and the PTA. He was employed for several years by various federal and state agencies, retiring from the Maine State Department of Labor in 1987 after 20 years of service on account of illness. John was a past master of Exeter Grange and the West Penobscot Pomona Grange and a member of the State and National Granges. He was also a member and Past Noble Grand of Corinthian Lodge, I.O.O.F., Kenduskeag Lodge, No. 137, A.F. & A.M. and a former member of the Mapleton Knights of Pythias. He was a lifelong member of the Methodist church in Mapleton and in Corinth. John was predeceased by his first wife, Helen (Buck); two sons, Mervin L. and Arthur L. McLaughlin; two brothers, Maurice of Mapleton and Willis of Iowa; three sisters, Beulah Sidel, Blanche Gorman and Verna Pierce Baker. Surviving in addition to his wife, Lorraine (Roach) McLaughlin of Glenburn and a stepson, William Roach and his wife, Marlene, of Miami, Fla., are four sons, Dwight and his wife, Eleanor, and Joel and his wife, Elizabeth, all of Corinth, Barry and his wife, Kimberly, of West Tremont, and Larry and his wife, Sue Ellen, of Old Town; a daughter, Nancy Adams and her husband, Gana, of Levant; two daughters-in-law, Carol McLaughlin of Corinth and Sheila McLaughlin of Presque Isle; 25 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; a very special niece, Enid Gorman of Wells and several nieces, nephews and cousins. Friends may call from 3-5 and 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at the Thompson Funeral Home, 17 Hudson Road, Corinth, where a Masonic memorial service will be conducted at 7 p.m. by Kenduskeag Lodge, A.F. & A.M. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Corinth United Methodist Church with the Rev. Michael Pike officiating. Spring burial will be in the Corinthian Cemetery, Corinth. The family invites friends and relatives to join them in the Corinth United Methodist Church Annex following the service for a time of fellowship and refreshment. Those who wish may make donations in John’s memory to the Corinth United Methodist Church Building Fund, at Corinth United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 17, Corinth, ME 04427.
JOHN MERVIN MCLAUGHLIN
