HOULTON – Mary L. (Bubar) Wilson, 96, passed away March 27, 2011, at Madigan Estates Nursing Home, Houlton. Mary was born Dec. 6, 1914, on Crow Hill in Linneus, the daughter of Merrill and Etta Bubar. Mary was one of the seven children of Etta and Merrill who immigrated from Hartland, New Brunswick, to Linneus in the early 1900s.
When Mary was a young child the family moved to St. Albans, where they established a dairy farm which the entire family worked at for many years. To this day, she always talked of the St. Albans/Newport area as “down home.” As a youth, Mary lived with several relatives during her high school and college years in order to attain a good education. Mary graduated third in her class from Newport High School in 1932, and excelled in her center position on the girls basketball team. Her yearbook stated that she was one of the “most loved” members of her class. She also attended and graduated from Houlton Business College. In 1934 she married Lloyd M. Wilson, the love of her life for 68 years, and they moved to Houlton, Aroostook County, where they made their home for the rest of their lives. After Lloyd returned from World War II, they soon established a grocery store on South Street, Houlton, where they both worked until 1966. In 1970 Mary established her nursery school on South Street, which she operated for 17 wonderful years, and was the job that she loved best of all during her lifetime. Young children were always special to Mary, and many of her students and parents remembered themselves to her when they would see her on the street. She appreciated this very much, and her love for them was very obvious. Mary loved her family most of all, and time at camp on East Grand Lake was enjoyed for nearly 70 years, especially with Lloyd after he retired in 1977. They spent many wonderful hours exploring the lakeshores and fishing during the summer. Mary was a faithful Christian who loved her church, Houlton Methodist Church, very much. She was so pleased that her grandchildren attended church and she loved her church friends more than words can express. The women’s circles of the church were very loving to Mary while in the nursing home, and she appreciated it. Although she was blind for the last few years, the folks at Madigan Estates made her life comfortable and she enjoyed their efforts to care for her in a loving manner.
Mary is survived by her son, Jerry L. Wilson and his wife, Melanie; special grandchildren, Heather and her husband, Joseph Fagnant, and Amanda and her husband, Peter Howe; and her very special great-grandchildren, Alison Fagnant, Elizabeth Howe and Sarah Howe. When Heather and Mandy were small children, it was Mary’s greatest pleasure to nurture and teach them how to be good students and good citizens. She was so proud of her offspring. In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her husband, Lloyd, in 2002; her brothers, Milton, George and Sheldon Bubar; and her sisters, Helen (Bubar) Clark, Kathleen (Bubar) Griffeth and Bessie (Bubar) Hamm.
Friends are invited to call 6:30-8 p.m. Tuesday at Dunn Funeral Home, where funeral services will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday with the Rev. Naomi Sam’Kpakra officiating. Interment will be at a later date at Evergreen Cemetery. Gifts may be made in Mary’s memory to Houlton United Methodist Church or Houlton Community Arts Center, care of Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park St., Houlton, ME 04730. Online guest book and condolences at
www.dunnfuneral.com.