GORHAM – Railroader Mat Rines, of Walnut Crest Road, ran out of steam Wednesday, April 11, 2007, after a 30-month illness. Born in Portland, he was a son of Bernard P. and Priscilla Thomas Rines. Mathew was a 1968 graduate of Gorham High School. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in civil and environmental engineering from Clarkson College of Technology in 1972, and worked for the State of New Hampshire as a highway engineer for two years before joining Maine Central Railroad. In his spare time, Mat was the office staff at the family business Ag. Engineers, Inc. and Walnut Crest Farm, where he had been running the summer haying crew since he was 15. An expert on trains since a boy, Mat could hear both the Maine Central Mountain Division and the Sanford & Eastern Railroads from his childhood home. Mat rode over almost all of the rails in New England at work or play. He worked for the Maine Central & Guilford for 22 years, ending up as a design and construction engineer, was a trustee of the 470 Railroad Club and a member of the North Conway Scenic Railroad. He was also a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Maine Farm Bureau, past president of the Watchic Lake Association and a season ticket holder for the Portland Pirates. Mat was always busy being a knowledgeable, independent and industrious worker. He read several newspapers and journals each day keeping up with the construction world. Surviving him are his parents, Bernard and Priscilla Rines; two brothers, Dale S. Rines and his wife, Betty and their son, Nathaniel Thomas Rines and Stephen P. Rines, all of Gorham; an uncle, Dr. Mark Rines and his wife, Joan, of Columbia, Miss.; two aunts, Anna Rines Martin of Scarborough and Joyce Thomas of Tucson, Ariz.; and several cousins. The Rines family thanks Maine Center for Cancer Medicine and Blood Disorders, Gibson Pavillion at Maine Medical Center and Dr.’s Ebrahim, Mao and Rutstein. There are no visiting hours. A celebration of Mathew’s life will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 17, at First Parish Congregational Church, One Church Street, Gorham, with the Rev. Larry Kalp officiating. Interment will be held after at Evergreen Cemetery, Portland. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross, 2401 Congress St., Portland, ME 04102 or Baxter Memorial Library, 71 South St., Gorham, ME 04038. Arrangements are under the direction of Dolby and Dorr Funeral Chapel, Gorham.
MATHEW THOMAS RINES
