MEDWAY – Florence E. “Fonnie” Van Dine, 72, passed away 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17, 2009, while wrapped in the loving arms of her devoted son and caregiver, Gordon, at her home. She was born Oct. 27, 1936, in Woodville, daughter of George H. and Lettie A. (Cram) Gordon. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her beloved husband, Alfred H. Van Dine Sr., Dec. 5, 2000; and her brother and sister-in-law, Foster I. “Curly” and Margaret R. “Peggy” (Hobbs) Gordon. Fonnie is survived by her five loving sons, Alfred H. “Chip” Van Dine Jr. and wife, Ellen, Bret G. Van Dine and wife, Dawn, Jon P. Van Dine, Gordon E. Van Dine, and Todd C. Van Dine and wife, Rachel and their children, Erik and Gerrett, who were both the absolute pride and joy of their Grammy Van Dine and the loves of her life; other special grandchildren, Jeremy, Charissa, Justin and Cassidy, whom our mom missed greatly, talked about often and loved dearly; a very special member of our family, Barry Martin. Fonnie is also survived by her sisters, Colleen (Gordon) Detour and husband, Wesley “Wes” Sr., and Amy (Gordon) Frazier and husband, Roger; sisters-in-law, Melissa (Van Dine) Thompson and husband, Byron “Bunnie,” and Roberta (Van Dine) Snowman; aunts, Leona (Cram) Snowman, Annie (Cram) Seavey, June (Cram) Thompson and Katherine “Kack” Cram; many nieces, nephews and friends. Fonnie was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother, who devoted her life to loving and taking care of her entire family and especially her soul mate and husband, Alfred, whom she loved with all her heart. From the time that Fonnie married Alfred and started having her children, she devoted her entire life to putting her family’s needs above her own. Mom was the living example of God’s unconditional love. Us children are very proud to tell people who our parents are and we realize how truly blessed we are to have had a mother and father who truly loved their Lord and Savior, loved each other and loved their children with a passion, and with the same unconditional love that God loves all of his children. Fonnie was a woman of many talents, some that were well known and some that probably weren’t so well known. Our mom had a beautiful singing voice and played multiple musical instruments, was the world’s greatest cook, world’s greatest wife, world’s greatest mom and world’s greatest grandmother. Our mom had many passions and hobbies that she enjoyed doing; she loved to garden, can and preserve food for her family; she absolutely loved to do all housework chores, such as vacuum, wash floors and any sort of cleaning. Our mom loved to keep her house clean and for some reason she loved to wash laundry and hang clothes outside to dry and then fold them all up perfectly and put them all away in their proper places. Our mom was the world’s absolute greatest chef. Everyone enjoyed Mom’s cooking. Our mom had many more talents and passions also, but her greatest joy came from taking care of her husband, her children and her grandchildren, and most of all, she truly loved our Lord and Savior, and loved to read and study her very worn Bible any time that she could. Mom lived her life with dignity even while living the last years of her life with Alzheimer’s disease. She still lived with dignity. We love you mom, and we can’t wait to see you on the other side. The wake will be held 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 21, at Clay Funeral Home, 7 Lee Road, Lincoln, where a celebration of her life will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, with the Rev. Keith Moody officiating. Spring interment will be at Grindstone Road Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in her memory to Maine Alzheimer’s Association, 170 U.S. Route 1, Falmouth, ME 04105. Those who wish may sign an online register and leave written condolences at www.clayfuneralhome.com.
FLORENCE E. ‘FONNIE’ VAN DINE
