SEAL COVE – It is with great sadness that we announce the deaths of our beloved parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, uncle, aunt, brother, sister and devoted friends. Edmund P. Branch died May 27, 2011, and was born May 13, 1928, in Southboro, Mass., the son of Bertram E. and Meta O. (Pipping) Branch, and Eileen R. (Foley) Branch died May 28, 2011, and was born Aug. 4, 1932, in Lincoln, N.H., the daughter of Leo Paul and Corinne M. (Violette) Foley.
They were married March 1, 1952, in Cornish. Ed was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. Their careers in the restaurant industry had them travel from New England to South Carolina in the 1950s, then back to New England, where they managed Boulder Brook, Center Lovell; New England Inn, Intervale, N.H.; Gene’s Restaurant, Skowhegan; Mast and Rudder, Colonel’s Deli and Little Grey Cow, Northeast Harbor; and Seafood Ketch, Bass Harbor. Ed was past president of the Maine Restaurant Association and Maine Society Sons of the American Revolution. Ed was a member of the American Legion and Masonic Temple.
They are survived by their five children, Sheryl Reece and husband, Terry, Bert Branch and wife, Kathy, Stuart Branch and wife, Lisa, Laurie Rau and husband, Karl, and Rob Branch and wife, Sue. They are also survived by 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Ed is survived by his siblings, Olive Burkitt and husband, Bill, Stuart Branch and wife, Sharon, and Heather Glidden. Eileen is survived by her twin sister, Arlene Mulleavey; and sisters, Joyce Arsenault and husband, Rene, Shirley Mayhew and husband, Hawk, and Sally Foley. Ed was predeceased by his parents; brothers, Robert and Bruce; and sister, Kacie Schmidt. Eileen was predeceased by her parents; and brother-in-law, Joe Mulleavey.
Memorial services will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, June 4, at Jordan-Fernald, 1139 Main St., Mount Desert, with Pastor Charles Ives presiding. Private family committal will be held at Center Cemetery, Seal Cove. Those who desire may make contributions in Ed and Eileen’s memory to The First, care of Steve Parady, P.O. Box 258, Bar Harbor, ME 04609. This will be for a scholarship fund for a Mount Desert Island High School student pursuing a culinary career. Condolences may be expressed at
www.jordanfernald.com.