SOUTH THOMASTON – Dorothy Mae (Counce) Ranta, born March 24, 1913, in Camden, left the life and family she loved so dearly March 16, 2011, with family by her side. She was the daughter of Harriet Rogers Jones and Harry Fuller Counce, and the beloved wife of the late Niilo Norman Ranta, who died in 1977.
Dorothy was the eldest daughter of seven children. She became a second mother to her younger siblings, creating a bond her sisters and brothers never forgot. She graduated from a one-room schoolhouse in Washington, Maine, in 1930 and attended Castine Normal School and later, a business school in Virginia. During World War II, after her husband was drafted, Dorothy worked at Bath Iron Works, then at a medical job in the Navy, where she became a medical technician and surgical assistant at a hospital in Denver. After moving back to Maine, Dorothy met and married Niilo Ranta in 1940 in a double ceremony with Tauno Rahkonen and Elvie Hyvaronen in Rockland. Niilo and Dorothy lived at the site of the Ranta family farm, where throughout the years, they kept sheep and several sets of dogs, who were like children to them. Dorothy and Niilo played a significant role in the Finnish community in South Thomaston, maintaining the tradition of the Finnish sauna, whereby close friends relaxed in the sauna on Saturday nights and partook of food during a Finnish “coffee table” later. Dorothy actively pursued her interest in all things Finnish until her death. Dorothy spent many happy years in South Thomaston. A longtime member of the Finnish Church, Dorothy later became a Baptist, attending services at both small churches to boost their membership. She had many wonderful friends, including her “guardian angel” Ethel Powell, Evelyn Sidelinger, Dot Jackson, Barbara Black, Signe Rytky and Helme Ranta. She loved company, and visitors never left her presence without feeling loved and uplifted. Dorothy was a giving person who loved people and conversation and greatly enjoyed life. Dorothy was a link to times past: she remembered meeting her grandfather Rogers, who was born in 1835; her mother played the piano for the silent movies in Rockland; her father performed there as a magician. Dorothy herself, as the oldest member of the community, was the recipient of the Boston Post Cane.
She was predeceased by brothers, Roger Counce Sr. and Norman Jones; and sister, Marguerite Creamer. Surviving family members are Gertrude Jones, Maybelle Rodrigue and husband, Horace, and Marion Williams and husband, Edward; and sister-in-law, Claudette Jones. She is also survived by many loving and well-loved nieces and nephews and their families, including special nephews, Roger Chapman Counce Jr. and wife, Susan, of Seoul, South Korea, and Kerwin Creamer and wife, Volene, of Waldoboro; and special nieces, Suzanne Comins and husband, Neil, and sons, James and Joshua, all of Bangor and Lorraine Boren of Union. The family thanks Kno-Wal-Lin’s excellent hospice services for the superior care Dorothy received in her final weeks.
Friends are invited to call 2-4 p.m. Monday, March 21, at Hall & Bibber Funeral Home, 78 Main St., Thomaston. A celebration of Dorothy’s life will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 22, at Trinity Baptist Church, Gleason Street, Thomaston. Private interment will be at Rockville Cemetery. Should friends desire, memorial donations may be made to Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841. Arrangements are entrusted to Hall & Bibber Funeral Home, 78 Main St., Thomaston. You are invited to share your condolences, memories and photos with the family by visiting their Book of Memories at
www.hallfuneralhomes.com.