BOWDOINHAM – Julia “Judy” Avis (Hilton) Connors Hinkley, 84, of River Road, died Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at Winship Green Nursing Center, Bath, after discontinuing treatment from the MidCoast Kidney Dialysis Center last week. She was born May 13, 1922, in Castle Hill, a daughter of Miles E. and Sadie Ruth Hilton of Mapleton. She graduated from Mapleton High School in 1939, and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Southern Maine in 1980, at age 58. She married Alden A. Connors of Sorrento, Dec. 25, 1941. Mr. Connors died in 1947. She later married Lynn R. Hinkley of Bowdoinham, Sept. 2, 1954. Mr. Hinkley died in 1980. During World War II, she was a ships welder and tacker in Bath shipyards. She was proud to have hid her pregnancies during those years, in order to contribute to the war effort. When her first husband returned wounded from overseas, she left work to care for him and for her growing family. A homemaker most of her life, she enjoyed writing, reading, baking, painting and following the accomplishments of her children. She was quick to point out that six of her seven children received advanced collegiate degrees. For more than 20 years, she was a bus driver-attendant for special need students in SAD 75. She enjoyed working for local literacy volunteer programs, and as a tutor, taught two people to read. She helped build two Habitat for Humanity homes, working on an all-female crew. She was a volunteer and a contributor to the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. She loved cats and had a local reputation as a biscuit and graham bread maker. During her several Bowdoinham barbecue celebrations, she baked and contributed more than 1,200 biscuits to the effort. She was predeceased by a brother, Frank N. Hilton; and a stepdaughter, Verona Prindall. She is survived by three sons, Grant A. Connors and his wife, Janet, of Brunswick, Frank Connors and his wife, Jane, of Bowdoinham and Alden A. Connors and his wife, Sue Anne, of Topsham; four daughters, Glenna M. Morin and her husband, Richard, of Bowdoinham, Ruth Millay and her husband, David, of Bowdoin, Allison L. Green of Bowdoinham, and Marilyn J. Hinkley of Bowdoinham; two stepdaughters, Beverley Douglas and her husband, Hartley, of Bowdoinham, and Winifred Clark and her husband, Raymond, of Bristolville, Ohio; two sisters, Jean Evrard and her husband, Leroy, of Harpswell, and Jeannette Kenney and her husband, Warren, of West Bath; 14 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and eight step-grandchildren. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Monday, March 12, at Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal St., Brunswick, with the Rev. Mary Begley Baard officiating. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bowdoinham Historical Society Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 101, Bowdoinham, ME 04008, the Bowdoinham Public Library, 13A School St., Bowdoinham, ME 04008 or to a charity of one’s choice. A tribute of Mrs. Hinkley’s life can be viewed at www.brackettfuneralhome.com
JULIA ‘JUDY’ AVIS (HILTON) CONNORS HINKLEY
