MURRELL E. HARE

SEARSPORT and ELLICOTT CITY, Md. – Murrell E. Hare, 71, passed away un-expectedly Mon-day, Nov. 10, 2003, at his home in Searsport. He was born June 6, 1932, in Baltimore, Md., the son of Walter M. and May Belle (Holley) Hare. Murrell was a graduate of Forest Park High School, Class of 1950. During his years in the Army, he served at Fort Meade, Md., Fort Gordon, Ga., and Fort Bragg, N.C. During the early years of his marriage to Betty, he was the owner of several service stations and was a master mechanic with 40 West Volkswagen, where for the first time his name was “shortened” to Earl, the name he would carry with him for the remainder of his life. He was also a service manager for Normandy Ford in Ellicott City before moving to Maine and working for Lothrop Ford in Belfast and Sullivan Ford in Bangor. His automotive interests, particularly in Volkswagens, were to last him throughout his life. Earl and his family raised bassets and bloodhounds under the kennel name of Chalimar Acres. He served as a board member and as president for the Catonsville Kennel Club and the Basset Hound Club of Maryland. He was a charter member of the Mid-Atlantic Bloodhound Club and also belonged to the American Bloodhound Club. Earl proudly served as president of the Mount de Sales Academy Parents Club during the early 1970’s and helped to establish a school bus service for the Academy, as well as becoming their first official school bus driver. Earl was an extraordinary and unparalleled craftsman as a furniture refinisher, and in addition to establishing the Red Barn Antiques Shop in Reisterstown, Md., with his wife, he also taught Adult Ed classes in furniture refinishing at Catonsville High School. After a visit to Maine in the summer of 1973, Earl vowed to move to Maine by the time he was 50. At the age of 47, he attained that goal and embraced his adopted state wholeheartedly. He particularly enjoyed watching the Red Sox in action, as well as the New England Patriots, but having been a hockey player in his youth, his spirit was always out there on the ice with the University of Maine Black Bears hockey team. With his community, he had been a member of the Searsport Lions Club and was a past president of the Searsport Historical Society. In 1981, as a self-taught auctioneer, Earl established the Hare Auction Co., and eventually, three generations of his family would join him in this endeavor. Through the years, Earl has helped a variety of communities with his time and talents at benefit auctions. The College of the Atlantic, Searsport’s Annual 4th of July Field Day and the Belfast United Methodist Church have all benefited from his auctioneering expertise. In addition to being known and admired for his fierce devotion to his family and his loyalty in friendships, Earl will always be remembered for his witty repartee and his unique sense of humor. Anyone who ever had the pleasure of dining with him knew that it was not beyond the realm of possibility for him to claim to be “the food critic for the (fictitious) Portland Press Herald” while asking for a steak knife to cut his salad. Earl was a communicant at St. Gabriel’s Church in Winterport, and “Mistah Haya” had a special place in his heart for his 5-year old twin pew mates, Maria and Julia. Earl is survived by his devoted and loving wife of 51 years, Elizabeth Ann “Betty” (nee Nitsch) Hare; his daughter, Elizabeth Ann “Lisa” Hare-Whitney of Bucksport; his son and daughter-in-law, Charles Walter “Chas” and Mia Hare of Stockton Springs and his daughter, Mary Catherine “Mimi” Hare of Searsmont; his much loved grandchildren include Amanda C. Whitney and her companion, Patrick Cowan, of Bangor, Audra L. Whitney of Bucksport and Carl J. Hare of Stockton Springs; a sister and brother-in-law, Dorothy and Wilhelm Vermolen of Laguna Woods, Calif.; and a brother-in-law and his wife, Charles R. and Elizabeth Ann Nitsch of Catonsville, Md.; and three nieces, Mary Elizabeth Nitsch, Amy Ann Nitsch and Karen Long. “Pop” also leaves behind a very special “granddog” by the name of Hershey. Friends are invited to attend a “Celebration of Life” and Mass 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at St. Matthew’s Church, Western Avenue, Hampden, with Father Robert Vaillancourt officiating and assisted by Pastor Dave Abbott of the Belfast United Methodist Church. Relatives and friends are invited to share conversation and refreshments at the Parish Hall following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Earl’s memory be made to either St. Gabriel’s Church, P.O. Box 280, Hampden, ME 04444 or the Belfast United Methodist Church, 23 Mill Lane, Belfast, ME 04915. Arrangements by Young Funeral Home, 31 West Main St., Searsport. community, he had been a member of the Searsport Lions Club and was a past president of the Searsport Historical Society. In 1981, as a self-taught auctioneer, Earl established the Hare Auction Co., and eventually, three generations of his family would join him in this endeavor. Through the years, Earl has helped a variety of communities with his time and talents at benefit auctions. The College of the Atlantic, Searsport’s Annual 4th of July Field Day and the Belfast United Methodist Church have all benefited from his auctioneering expertise. In addition to being known and admired for his fierce devotion to his family and his loyalty in friendships, Earl will always be remembered for his witty repartee and his unique sense of humor. Anyone who ever had the pleasure of dining with him knew that it was not beyond the realm of possibility for him to claim to be “the food critic for the (fictitious) Portland Press Herald” while asking for a steak knife to cut his salad. Earl was a communicant at St. Gabriel’s Church in Winterport, and “Mistah Haya” had a special place in his heart for his 5-year old twin pew mates, Maria and Julia. Earl is survived by his devoted and loving wife of 51 years, Elizabeth Ann “Betty” (nee Nitsch) Hare; his daughter, Elizabeth Ann “Lisa” Hare-Whitney of Bucksport; his son and daughter-in-law, Charles Walter “Chas” and Mia Hare of Stockton Springs and his daughter, Mary Catherine “Mimi” Hare of Searsmont; his much loved grandchildren include Amanda C. Whitney and her companion, Patrick Cowan, of Bangor, Audra L. Whitney of Bucksport and Carl J. Hare of Stockton Springs; a sister and brother-in-law, Dorothy and Wilhelm Vermolen of Laguna Woods, Calif.; and a brother-in-law and his wife, Charles R. and Elizabeth Ann Nitsch of Catonsville, Md.; and three nieces, Mary Elizabeth Nitsch, Amy Ann Nitsch and Karen Long. “Pop” also leaves behind a very special “granddog” by the name of Hershey. Friends are invited to attend a “Celebration of Life” and Mass 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 14, at St. Matthew’s Church, Western Avenue, Hampden, with Father Robert Vaillancourt officiating and assisted by Pastor Dave Abbott of the Belfast United Methodist Church. Relatives and friends are invited to share conversation and refreshments at the Parish Hall following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Earl’s memory be made to either St. Gabriel’s Church, P.O. Box 280, Hampden, ME 04444 or the Belfast United Methodist Church, 23 Mill Lane, Belfast, ME 04915. Arrangements by Young Funeral Home, 31 West Main St., Searsport.