BELGRADE – Laura Mae Arbour Royce passed unexpectedly Tuesday morning, Sept. 6, 2005, at her North Belgrade home. Laura was born Aug. 30, 1908, in Bridgewater, the last child of William Herbert “Herb” Arbour and Harriett Bella “Hattie” White. She was the last surviving member of her birth family, after the death of her sister, Rita T. Arbour Christison, March 21, 2005, in Deer Lodge, Mont., at the age of 106. Laura graduated from Houlton High School and Maine School of Commerce (now Husson College) in Portland. She held administrative positions in Portland at Robinson Paper Company and Wrenn Brothers, an investment firm. She moved to Bangor, just before the September 1929 Stock Market Crash to assist in opening a Wrenn Brothers office there. Her primary business role in Bangor was with the bond house of Pierce, White & Drummond. She succeeded founders W. Ashmead White and E. Richard Drummond as managing partner. Following the sale of the business to what is now the investment firm of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, she worked in their Bangor office until her retirement and move to North Belgrade, in 1977. She actively managed her own investment portfolio. Mrs. Royce was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bangor, and North Belgrade Baptist Church. She served as assistant air raid warden during World War II and Treasurer of the Abnaki Girl Scout Council and the North Belgrade Garden Club. On Nov. 19, 1938, at the Bangor Theological Seminary chapel, Laura married Harvey George Royce, who passed away Sept. 18, 2001. Laura is survived by her daughter, Diana Royce Smith of Boulder, Colo.; and son, Roger Harvey Royce of Greenland, N.H.; granddaughter, Laura Ashworth Smith; son-in-law, Lawrence J. Smith; daughter-in-law, Leena M. Vuori-Royce; and many members of her extended families. Laura treasured long-time friends, Thelma Anderson of Bangor, Peggy Hanscom of West Enfield and Pam Savage of Bingham, as well as recently-discovered relatives in New Brunswick, Canada. Memorial contributions may be made to the North Belgrade Baptist Church, 8 Station Rd., Belgrade, ME 04917 or Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
LAURA MAE ARBOUR ROYCE
