SOUTH PORTLAND – With her spirit, intellect and her humor intact, Deborah Dalfonso, 58, of Scamman Street, died Dec. 19, 2008, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, Scarborough, after a long illness. She was born Nov. 25, 1950, in Bangor, daughter of Robert and Mary Elizabeth (O’Leary) Beede. Deborah graduated from John Bapst High School, Bangor and the University of Maine, Orono, in 1972. Deborah worked in the personnel office at Porteous, Mitchell and Braun during its glory years, then on staff at Cape Elizabeth High School for many years. In 1990 she started writing essays for magazines. Her work appeared in Down East, Yankee, Parenting, American Health, Smithsonian and others. She co-authored two biographies, Christina Olson: Her Life Beyond the Palette; and later Sister, the Life of Legendary American Decorator, Mrs. Henry Parish II. Her essays and books have been added to the Maine Women’s Writers Collection. She also taught workshops for Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and tutored for the verbal section of the SAT. As her multiple sclerosis progressed, she lost things that she treasured: walking her seven-mile route through South Portland and Cape Elizabeth, traveling and poking around Boston. Still, her home was a gathering place for Toast and Boast, a group comprised of women who write professionally. There was little she enjoyed more than a glass of good white wine and conversation with friends. Her most magical places were her own porch on Scamman Street and a white cottage with a glossy red front door in Dunquin, on the cliffs of the Dingle Peninsular in South West Ireland. She said that her husband, daughter and her Irish sense of the absurd were the lucky parts of her life. Deborah is survived by her husband, Dan of South Portland; and her daughter, Jill of Boston. She said she was blessed with her kind husband and her incredible daughter, who were the very center of her being. She was predeceased by her father in 1990. She is survived by her mother of Deltona, Fla.; and five siblings, Scott Beede and his wife, Gail, of Otis, Charles Beede and his wife, Joyce, of Long Island, Bahamas, Carol Colson and her husband, Steve, of Veazie, Elaine Harvey and her husband, Randy, of Bangor and Jim Beede of Bangor; and 12 nephews and nieces. In the end, Deb said it matters not one whit what we wrote or the awards we’ve been given. All that matters is who we loved and the friends who grew close to us. In that spirit, she was blessed to have as friends, Karin Congleton of Topsham, Krista Perry of New Haven, Conn., Deb Hides of Scarborough, Hannah Holmes of South Portland, Susan “Nooney” Wyckoff of Worcester, Mass., and Aileen LaBrie of South Portland. Also, she thanks all of her friends who came to take her out into the world. Visiting hours will be 4-8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22, at Conroy-Tully Crawford South Portland Chapel, 1024 Broadway, South Portland. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated 11 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 23, at Holy Cross Church, corner of Broadway and Cottage Road, South Portland. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery, South Portland. Far more important than flowers, please consider contributions in her name to Project Grace, P.O. Box 6846, Scarborough, ME 04074 or Gosnell Memorial Hospice House, 11 Hunnewell Road, Scarborough, ME 04074. Online condolences may be expressed at www.ctcrawford.com.
DEBORAH ANN (BEEDE) DALFONSO
