MILDRED MAUDE

BAR HARBOR – Mildred Maude (Hooper) Fletcher, 103, went home to be with our Lord and Savior Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008, at Mount Desert Island Hospital. She was born Sept. 17, 1904, in Blue Hill, the daughter of Arthur and Bessie Hooper of Blue Hill. During her long lifetime she experienced many changes in the world around her from the Atwater Kent radio to modern computers. She grew up in Blue Hill, second oldest of many siblings. While working in Blue Hill, she met her first husband, Robert. They had two children, Eleanor and Paul Clough. That marriage ended in divorce a few years later. Later she met and married the love of her life, Henry D. Fletcher. They were happily married for 54 years until his death in 1983. In 1945, they adopted a little girl, that they named Donna Lee. Mildred loved to bake cookies, pies, biscuits and beans on her wood fired stove in the garage. Year round you would find Mildred with knitting needles in her hands. She knit mittens for her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, their friends, neighbors and school children that did not have any. Mildred got her driver’s license late in life and was a very cautious driver. One afternoon, with the sun shining brightly, she was on her way home from the dog groomers. She rounded the corner at the Bluffs and the sun blinded her. Instead of veering right she went across the road, hit a snow bank and was airlifted over the guardrail into the Atlantic Ocean. The car landed in the ocean at low tide, she freed herself from the vehicle and climbed the steep, icy embankment, where a passerby heard her hollering for help. Until her death, Mildred was amused that she was the only person who ever went over the Bluffs in Bar Harbor. Mildred worked at various jobs around Bar Harbor from private cottages to Jackson Laboratory, doing anything to make a living. Mildred lived on her own at Malvern Belmont Estates until her mid 90s, when she moved to Sonogee Estates. Mildred is survived by her three sisters, Elsie Day, Eva Sargent and Ruth Reed; her son, Paul Clough of Bar Harbor; a son-in-law, Charlie Hamor of Trenton; grandchildren, Barbara Hamblen of Seal Harbor, Jay Clough of Ellsworth, Roger Keene, Michael Keene, Jean Vance and Phyllis Leighton, all of Bar Harbor; great-grandchildren, Jackie Ranco of Trenton, Jayson Clough of Tremont, Roger Keene II of Germany, Barbara Ann Gardner of Swans Island, Scott Keene of Trenton, Fletcher Keene of Swans Island, Katie and Kasey Leighton of Bar Harbor; great-great-grandchildren, Chris, Justin and Adam Ranco of Trenton, Cameron Clough of Hermon, Riley Clough of Tremont, Jordan and Stephen Gardner of Swans Island and Kahlan Keene of Ellsworth. Mildred was predeceased by her two husbands, Robert and Henry; her daughters, Eleanor Keene and Donna Lee Hamor; a grandson, Chuck Hamor; a son-in-law, Oliver Keene; a daughter-in-law, Helen Clough; her brothers, Chester and Arthur; and sisters, Buhlah, Della and Iva. A memorial service will be held at Church of Our Father, Hulls Cove, at a date to be announced. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Northern New Chapter of Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Bar Harbor Great Sides, 114 Perimeter Road, Unit E, Nashua, NH 03063.