BANGOR and BAR HARBOR – Mr. Roger Edwin Stearns Sr., 85, died April 7, 2006, at Brewer Rehab and Living Center. He was born Jan. 10, 1921, in Bar Harbor, the son of Margaret Brewer Stearns of Bar Harbor and Harry E. Stearns Jr. of Bar Harbor. Roger was a graduate of Bar Harbor High School, Class of 1939. He was the class president for four years. In 1937, he attended the National Boy Scout Jamboree as a Life scout in Washington D.C. and in 1939, as student council president. He represented the State of Maine at the National Honor Society Conference in New York City. After high school, he attended the University of Maine and then married his first wife, Geraldine Dolliver Stearns of Town Hill. They raised six children together and were married for 39 years. As a civilian engineering aide he entered the Army Air force in 1945 and was trained as a military radio mechanic, upon his honorable discharge in 1946. In 1947, Roger and Gerry purchased a home in Salisbury Cove, affectionately known as “The Farm,” where they spent 32 summers with their family enjoying the beauty and nature of Mount Desert Island. The same year the disastrous Bar Harbor fire broke out and Roger joined many other volunteers to assist the fire departments fighting the fire which raged for nearly a full month in the severely dry summer. Later he worked in Bar Harbor for Ambrose Higgins as an architectural draftsman and continued with the firm when it moved to Bangor and became Crowell, Lancaster, Higgins and Webster. He also worked for Eaton Tarbell. Roger was most proud of his contribution of design work on the Fine Art Center at the University of Maine, Orono. After the death of his first wife, he met and later married Frances Constantine of Bangor. Frances and Roger spent 20 years together enjoying their homes in Bangor and Green Lake in Ellsworth. In their later years, they wintered in Bradenton, Fla. where they were involved in many social events in their community, making many friends and enjoying their retired life. He enjoyed tending his orange and grapefruit trees and time spent at the beach. Both Frances and Roger being veterans of World War II, tirelessly lobbied for the successful restoration of the U.S.S. Battleship Maine Monument in Davenport Park, Bangor. Roger will be remembered for his love of gardening, his boundless energy, generosity and sense of humor, which never left him. His family, wife and friends will dearly miss him. He is survived by his wife, Frances Constantine Stearns; three daughters, Linda M. Wolverton of Union, Sandra Stearns Phillips of Rome and Lori Stearns Badger of Jackson, N.H.; three sons, Roger Edwin Stearns Jr. of Boston, Mass, Donald L. Stearns of Springvale and Steven V. Stearns of Pittsford, N.Y.; 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. A private graveside service was held April 8, at the Hadley Point Cemetery, Salisbury Cove. A celebration of his life with family and friends will be held later this summer at “The Farm.” Memorial contributions may be made to the Jesup Memorial Library, 34 Mount Desert St., Bar Harbor, ME 04660.
ROGER EDWIN STEARNS SR.
