HALLOWELL – Susan Madelyn (Higgins) Stanley, 93, of Granite Hill Estates and formerly of Hampden, passed away peacefully Feb. 26, 2006, at Heritage Manor in Winthrop after a brief illness. Born Dec. 21, 1912, in Dennysville, she was the daughter of the late J. Ralph and Grace (Allan) Higgins. Following graduation from Dennysville High School and Colby College, where she was a member of Phi Mu Sorority, she worked as a switchboard operator for Macy’s Department Store and as a governess in New York City, N.Y. She returned to Maine for a job as a social worker for the Maine Department of Health and Welfare, working with foster children and foster families in the Dover-Foxcroft area. She married Leslie H. Stanley, a Penobscot County Deputy Sheriff in 1939 and together they bought and operated the Hampden IGA grocery store in Hampden Highlands. In the late 1950’s, she was recruited by the Hampden school system as a long-term substitute teacher, earned a masters degree in education from the University of Maine and taught eighth grade full-time for several years. While in Hampden, she was an active member of the Hampden Highlands Methodist Church, the Parent Teacher Association and the Hampden Garden Club, an adult leader for Cub Scout and Girl Scout activities, a life-member of the Order of the Eastern Star and an active participant and leader in numerous charity fund-raising campaigns. In the early 1960’s, the family moved to Farmingdale and she became an eighth grade teacher at Lou Buker School in Augusta, retiring in 1977. She was a member of South Parish Congregational Church in Augusta, including service on its board of deacons and membership in its Women’s Guild, a member of the Augusta Antique Glass Club and a member of the Augusta Chapter of the Friends of the Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers. She was very proud of her active membership in the Koussinoc Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, coordinating the judging for their annual student essay contest for many years. She was predeceased by her husband, Leslie H. Stanley, originally of Springfield; a brother, Forrest Higgins of Dennysville; a sister, Eleanor Berg of Brownville; and a half-sister, Marjorie Holly of Boston, Mass. She is survived by her son, John Stanley and his wife, Elaine, of Readfield; her daughter, Susan Thomas and her companion, Dana Nowell, of Augusta; a sister, Mina Phinney of Dennysville; grandchildren, Jeffrey Thomas of Augusta and Amy Thomas of Bristol, Conn.; great-grandchildren, Mitchell Thomas of Augusta, Christopher Thomas of Bristol, Conn. and Brittany Thomas of Whitefield, as well as several in-laws, nieces and nephews. She also considered many of the staff and residents at Granite Hill Estates to be part of her extended family. Visiting hours will be held 9-11 a.m. Friday, March 3, at Plummer Funeral Home, 16 Pleasant St., Augusta, where a funeral service will be held 11 a.m., with the Rev. Bruce Forbes of South Parish Congregational Church in Augusta, officiating. Interment services will be held in the spring in the Maine Avenue Cemetery, Farmingdale at the convenience of the family. Memorial donations may be made to either, Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderer’s, 93 Silver St., Waterville, ME 04901 or HealthReach Hospice, P.O. Box 829, Waterville, ME 04903-0829. Condolences to the family may be expressed via the funeral home website at www.plummerfh.com
SUSAN MADELYN (HIGGINS) STANLEY
