FORT FAIRFIELD, BANGOR and PRESQUE ISLE – Helen S. Moirs, 78, wife of the late Walter Leo Moirs, passed away peacefully Saturday morning, Sept. 17, 2011, with her family by her side at a Caribou health care facility, after an extended illness. She was born Jan. 12, 1933, in Fort Fairfield, daughter of Loomis R. and Mabel (Trafton) Stevens.
Helen was a graduate of Fort Fairfield High School and was married to Walter Leo Moirs, July 15, 1953. She had been employed 33 years by the USDA Farmers Home Administration – FmHA in their Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle and Bangor offices, retiring in 1988. She was the first woman in Maine to receive the FmHA Outstanding Service Award in June 1978, one of several awards received during her career. In 1990 shortly after her retirement, FmHA selected Helen as the recipient of the Women’s History Award in recognition of national women’s history month for her loyalty, dependability and tireless efforts to improve the workplace, and make a positive impact on rural Maine communities. Helen, a resident of Bangor from 1982 to 2009, also worked part time during her retirement years for University of Maine Foundation Office and H&R Block. She relocated to Presque Isle in 2009, where she became a resident of Leisure Village. She was a member of National Association of Retired Federal Employees and Order of the Eastern Star, Lunar Chapter No. 126, Presque Isle. Helen had an insightful and inquisitive mind, and enjoyed playing Scrabble and cards with family and friends, doing daily word jumbles, and discussing politics and current events. Her greatest joy, however, was spending time with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all of whom loved her immensely for her unconditional love, gentleness, wisdom and graciousness. In addition to her parents, Helen was predeceased by her husband, Walter Leo Moirs, Sept. 29, 1998; one brother, Earl Emery Stevens; and three brothers-in-law, Gene, Leonard and Fred Moirs. She is survived by one son, William H. Moirs of Brunswick; three daughters, Tamra Kilcollins and her husband, Philip, of Fort Fairfield, Kathy A. Moirs and her fiance, Joel R. Toohey, of Bloomfield, Conn., and Lynn S. Moirs of Avon, Conn.; one brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Thelma Stevens of Ocala, Fla.; three sisters and brothers-in-law, Muriel and the Rev. Otto Palmer of Presque Isle, Betty and Mervyn Libby of Ocala, Fla., and Marilyn and Robert Black of Houston; five grandchildren, Holly L. Moirs and her husband, Brian Pressley, of Brunswick, Casey R. Hill of Old Town, Marine Lance Cpl. Ethan P. Hill of Camp Pendleton, Calif., Benjamin Kilcollins of Biddeford, and Jessamy Kilcollins of Boston; and two great-grandchildren, Lila and Leah Pressley of Brunswick. She also leaves behind two sisters-in-law, Gladys Walker and Mary Milliard, both of Fort Fairfield; numerous nieces and nephews. The Moirs family extends a special thank-you to the staff of Leisure Village; all of the staff and physicians at Cary Medical Center, especially Dr. Irene Djuanda, Dr. Claude Boma, Dr. John Bouchard, and the Cary Nursing and Respiratory Therapy Staff; Mary Allen, F.N.P., at Pines Health Services; the staff at Acadia Medical Supply; and Blossom Cyr, R.N., of Seniors Domestics Home Care.
Friends may call 7-9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, at Giberson-Dorsey Funeral Home, 144 Main St., Fort Fairfield, where a funeral service will be conducted 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 21, with the Rev. Mark Babin officiating. Due to family circumstance, burial at Union Cemetery, Fort Fairfield, will be held at a later date. A time of continued fellowship with refreshments will be held immediately after the funeral service at VFW Paul Lockhart Post No. 6187, Presque Isle Street, Fort Fairfield. Those who wish may contribute in memory of Mrs. Moirs to Jefferson Cary Foundation, P.O. Box 89, Caribou, ME 04736-9902. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.