MACHIAS – Kathleen Dora (Corbett) Johnson, 82, of Machias and Cutler, died peacefully Nov. 21, 2005, surrounded by her loving family, at Marshall Healthcare and Rehab Facility. She was born Oct. 4, 1923, in Roque Bluffs, the seventh of eight children raised by lighthouse keepers Velma and Willie Corbett. Kathleen grew up on Little River Island, at the mouth of Cutler Harbor. She enjoyed creating the games of “1,2,3, Scootch” and “The Diggledy Tree,” with her four brothers and three sisters. Kathleen absorbed the Saturday night music of her mother’s hymns on the keyboard and her father’s Irish jigs and reels on the fiddle. She grew up to delight others with her yodeling, guitar picking and piano playing. Kathleen loved all the children in her family and village of Cutler. She remembered them every birthday with a little something taped inside a card. And all who knew her loved Kathleen for her sense of humor. It was a quick wit that sprang up in the moment, no matter what the situation in life she found herself in, Kathleen could find the funny side to it. No one will ever forget visits to “Hotel Kathaleena,” her little house on the Cutler Cove Road, where she baked applesauce squares for family and church functions. Kathleen was active in both the Cutler and Jacksonville Methodist Churches and the Order of Eastern Star. She was proud to be a member of the Jacksonville Grange. While spending her final years with Florence Armstrong, the two Corbett sisters cheered the residents of area nursing homes and supported the Jacksonville Methodist Campground dinners. She will be dearly missed and lovingly remembered by her grandsons, Christopher and Andrew Johnson; her daughter-in-law, Barbara Kepner; brothers, Neil and Purcell Corbett, their wives Allie and Josephine; and by many family and friends. She was predeceased by her son, Elmer Johnson; her sisters, Emily, Ruth and Florence; and her brothers, Myron and Lester. A celebration of her life will be planned for a later date. Donations in her memory may be made to the American Lighthouse Foundation, P.O. Box 889, Wells, ME 04090, the Cutler Methodist Church, care of Pastor Betty Palmer, 3 Drisko St., Machias, ME 04654, or to the Jacksonville Grange No. 358, care of Sybil Townsend, P.O. Box 92, East Machias, ME 04630. The family is very grateful for the loving care provided by the nursing staff at Marshall Healthcare, Downeast Hospice, and her friend, Maude McKinley.
KATHLEEN D. (CORBETT) JOHNSON
