SIGRID E. TOMPKINS

PORTLAND – Sigrid Emma Tompkins, 88, of Portland, died Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2005, at a local healthcare facility. Sigrid was born Jan. 22, 1917, in Houlton, the daughter and only child of Nathanial and Ragnhild (Iverson) Tompkins. She graduated from Houlton High School in 1934, Colby College in 1938, and Boston University School of Law in 1941. She received an Honorary Master of Arts from Colby College in 1970. While at Colby, Sigrid majored in economics and was a member of Sigma Kappa sorority, the debating club (she won the Coburn Speaking Prize and the Murray Debating Prize), and the White Mule Board. She was admitted to the Massachusetts Bar in 1941, and the Maine Bar in 1942. She was also admitted to practice before the United States District Court, District of Maine and the United States Supreme Court. From 1942-1945, Sigrid practiced law in Houlton with her father, a former President of the Maine Senate. In 1945, when her father was appointed to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, Sigrid moved to Portland and, at the invitation of the senior partner, Leonard A. Pierce, began her long and distinguished career at the firm that is now named Pierce Atwood LLP. In 1953, she was made a partner in the firm, which was then Hutchinson, Pierce, Atwood & Scribner, becoming the first woman partner of a Maine law firm. Early in her career, Sigrid practiced in the real estate department; she was the head of the department for many years. Later, her practice became focused on the areas of probate, trusts, estate planning, and estate administration, and these were the areas in which she practiced until her retirement in August 2000. Sigrid was a role model for women lawyers in the State of Maine as an active participant and leader in the many legal associations of which she was a member. In 1973, she became the first woman vice-president of the Cumberland County Bar Association, and in 1974, she became the first woman president of the association. She was a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and also a member of the American Bar Association, Maine State Bar Association and Aroostook County Bar Association. She was elected to the American College of Probate Counsel, and from 1983-1995, she served as the Maine State Editor of the State Law Comments section of Drafting the Durable Power of Attorney: A Systems Approach. Sigrid was presented with a special lifetime achievement award at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Maine State Bar Association in recognition of her service to the legal community and to the people of Maine. Sigrid was a dedicated alumna of Colby College. Both of her parents were also Colby graduates. Sigrid was an Alumni Trustee from 1970-1976, a Corporate Trustee from 1977-1985, and a trustee emeritus at the time of her death. She was a member of the Southern Maine Colby Club and a member of the Southwestern Maine Alumnae Association. She also served as Trustee Delegate to the College’s Second Constitutional Convention in 1972 and Alumni Council Representative from the Class of 1938 from 1968-1973. She held the position of vice president of the Class of 1938 from 1983-1988. Sigrid was the first Alumni Trustee to serve as a member of the Executive Committee of the Colby College Board of Trustees, and she was Chair of the Trustee Ad Hoc Committee on Minorities. Sigrid was given the Colby Brick Award in 1976 in honor of her volunteer service to the College. Sigrid was an active member of the Republican Party. She was an Alternate Delegate to the Republican National Convention in San Francisco, Calif., in 1948. She was also a member of the Lincoln Club. A generous contributor to many charitable causes, Sigrid served on the Victoria Mansion’s Victoria Society of Maine Board from 1984-1994, and at various times throughout her tenure, held the positions of treasurer, chair of finance committee, and member of the Executive Committee. She joined the Salvation Army Greater Portland Advisory Board in 1963, served for many years as the Secretary of the Board, was on the Planned Giving Committee, and was made a member emeritus when she became unable to continue in her active membership. She was a member of the Portland Country Club, the Zonta Club, the Advisory Committee of the Maine Historical Society, and the Board of the Catherine Morrill Day Nursery. For many years she provided legal representation to the Trustee of the Lucy Farnsworth Trust. She was a great friend to the YWCA, serving on various committees over the years. She was also a Maine Health Corporator from 1963-2005, and served as a corporator of Portland Savings Bank. Sigrid is sorely missed by her partners and colleagues at Pierce Atwood and by her many friends. Sigrid was predeceased by her father in 1949, and her mother in 1972; and by her fianc?, Barney Holt, who was killed in action in World War II. There will be no visiting hours. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Friday, April 29, at the Jones, Rich & Hutchins Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St., Portland, with the Rev. Barbara McKusick Liscord officiating. Sigrid will be buried next to her parents at Evergreen Cemetery in Houlton. Friends may make contributions in Sigrid’s memory to Colby College, The Sigrid E. Tompkins Fund, care of Office of Donor Relations, 4345 Mayflower Hill, Waterville, ME 04901, or to the Houlton Regional Hospital, 20 Hartford St., Houlton ME 04730.