BUCKSPORT – Lora Donnell, 87, passed away peacefully Sept. 27, 2011, surrounded by her family while at an Ellsworth health care facility. She was born May 22, 1924, in Orland, one of 13 children of Alvertie E. and Carrie (Flaville) Gray.
Lora attended Carter School, a one-room schoolhouse on Dodge Hill, North Orland, and walked to school with her brothers. She lived on the family farm on a high hill, nearly a mile from the third-rate road that gave access to civilization. There was heavy snow in the winter, mud in the spring, no telephone, no electricity and no radio. She learned to cook at an early age, baking beans and biscuits for her brothers. She worked many years for Priscilla Moore at the restaurant and then the roadside stand. She was a lifetime member of Order of Eastern Star, Riverside Chapter, Orland; White Shrine; member of Victory Grange, North Orland; and East Bucksport United Methodist Church. She will always be remembered for her wonderful cooking and was a regular at Senior Center, Bucksport, each Sunday to listen to the music.
Lora is survived by her children, Amos Orcutt and his wife, Lola, of Bangor, Charlotte Snowman of Orland, Warren Orcutt and his wife, Velma, of Steuben, Mary Goode and her husband, Kenneth, of Opp, Ala., William Orcutt and his wife, Sandra, of North Orland, and Earl Orcutt of North Orland; 15 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, nine great-great-grandchildren; two brothers, Foster Gray of Dedham and Alvertie Gray Jr. of Bucksport; and a sister-in-law, Joyce Goode of Bucksport. She was predeceased by her parents; first husband, Ralph E. Orcutt and her second husband, David Donnell; sisters, Erma Patten, Mildred Miller and Ione Elmore; brothers, Marshall, Norman, Olin, Owen, Kenneth, Lloyd and Forrest; and grandson, Robert Snowman. The family thanks the staff of Courtland Rehabilitation & Assisted Living, Ellsworth, for the wonderful care she received throughout the last 24 months.
A funeral service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at East Bucksport United Methodist Church, Church Road, Bucksport, with Pastor Peter Remick officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to East Bucksport United Methodist Church, care of Joyce Johnson, P.O. Box 551, Bucksport, ME 04416 or a charity of your choice. Arrangements are under the direction of Mitchell-Tweedie Funeral Home, 28 Elm St., Bucksport.