ROCKLAND – Lorraine O. Mace, 81, died Friday, June 10, 2011, in the loving care of her family at her home, after a short battle against an aggressive cancer. Born Dec. 21, 1929, in Old Town, she was the daughter of Alfred Joseph Sr. and Madeline Ashe Ouellette.
The oldest of five children, she grew up on French Island, attended local schools and was the 1947 salutatorian of Old Town High School. Raised in a talented, musical family, the Ouellette’s were well known for their wonderful harmony and repertoire of songs. Lorraine met her future husband at the University of Maine and they later married April 14, 1951, in Painted Post, N.Y. Their union formed a loving relationship that produced four children, and created a home that was open and nurturing to family and friends. Returning to the mid-coast area, they first settled in Warren and then to Amesbury Street, Rockland. She designed her own signature kitchen where the trestle table saw many lively conversations, cribbage games, home cooked food, laughter and tears. One of her fondest memories was the time she spent working as a teacher’s aide for Mrs. Brannan at South School. As she raised her children, Lorraine quickly became woven into the fabric of this community, working with Pen Bay Auxiliary, Jaycee Wives and Beta Sigma Phi. She was a longtime active member of Rockland Golf Club and had five holes-in-one. Lorraine worked to design and build their summer home on Lermond’s Pond, where she loved listening to the loons on the waterside deck. Mrs. Mace enjoyed gardening, decorating, cooking, crossword puzzles and keeping track of worldly events on CNN. For several years, with her husband, Lorraine wintered in West Palm Beach, Fla., and later in Lakeland, Fla., where she was a member of Cypress Lakes Golf Club 19th Holers. She scored one more hole-in-one, and played golf up until her macular degeneration made it impossible.
Mrs. Mace was predeceased by one son, Frank E. Mace III, in 1982; her husband of 52 years, Frank E. Mace II, in 2003; and a brother, Alfred J. Ouellette Jr., this year. She is survived by one son, Mark A. Mace of Rockland; two daughters, Marcella Mace Christensen and her husband, Cliff, of Camden, and Nancy Mace Fuschini of Rockland; two brothers, Wayne Ouellette and his wife, Muriel, of Brooksville, Fla., Nelson Ouellette and his partner, Joyce, of Milford and Fort Pierce, Fla.; one sister, Gloria Jean Dionne of Brewer; two sisters-in-law, Charlotte Whitman and her husband, Don, and Betty Makevich and her husband, Walter; two grandchildren, Todd Mace Christensen and Christie Ann Fuschini; three great-grand-children, Mason Clay Thomas, Fisher Gale Thomas and Levi Bowman Thomas; as well as many nieces and nephews.
A celebration of Mrs. Mace’s life will be held 11 a.m. Thursday, June 16, at Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland, with Mr. Michael McGuire officiating. In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Kno-Wal-Lin Hospice, 170 Pleasant St., Rockland, ME 04841. To share a memory or story with Mrs. Mace’s family, please visit her guest book at
www.bchfh.com.