DOVER-FOXCROFT – Helen Dillen Stitham, 95, first woman radio station manager in Maine, died Nov. 25, 2011. She was born Aug. 4, 1916, in Mars Hill, the fourth daughter of Herrick Lufkin Dillen and Rachel Kearney Dillen.
After attending local schools and business college, she worked in Boston and Presque Isle. Before her marriage she was the general manager of WAGM radio station in Presque Isle, the first woman in Maine, and one of the first in the U.S., to hold such a position. On Dec. 29, 1942, she married Linus Joseph Stitham of Mars Hill, and worked in an advertising agency as chief accountant to support him as he finished his medical degree at St. Louis University in Missouri. During the war she returned to WAGM while Linus served with the U.S. Medical Corps. In 1947 after a year in Lewiston, where he finished his residency, they moved with their two young daughters to Dover-Foxcroft, where Linus established his general medical practice and Helen, while managing the business of his office, created a warm and loving home for their children, who eventually numbered five. Helen served for many years on Foxcroft Academy Board of Trustees, 20 of them as secretary of the board. She was president of Maine Medical Association Women’s Auxiliary and was a member of the executive board of Maine Lung Association. She was an active member of many local service organizations, including the Cosmopolitan and Miosac clubs, Charleston Officers’ Wives Club, Literacy Volunteers, Mayo Memorial Hospital Volunteers, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and St. Thomas Women’s Club. In her 50s Helen commuted to the University of Maine, Orono, for three years, greatly enjoying the intellectual stimulation and the company of students her children’s ages. A lifelong avid bridge player, Helen along with A. Ellis and Anna Stone, founded Dover-Foxcroft Duplicate Bridge Club. She greatly enjoyed traveling, especially by train. She visited Russia by river barge, Europe, Australia, Asia and Central America. At age 80, she went to Hudson Bay, Canada, to watch polar bears, and at 87 sailed on the Queen Elizabeth II on one of its last Atlantic crossings. She was fond of saying that her “hat was always on the doorknob,” and her bag packed and ready for the next trip. After their retirement, Helen and Linus spent their winters in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and summers at Sebec Lake. With her husband, Helen, the consummate hostess, gave many parties at both their homes. After her husband’s death in 2000, Helen returned to Maine as a full-time resident, first in Auburn and then in Dover-Foxcroft. Helen was a multi-talented and gracious lady, whose warm hospitality and gourmet cooking were legendary among her family and friends, and the many friends of her children throughout the years. She was greatly loved and will be much missed.Helen was predeceased by husband, Linus; three sisters, Anne Dillen Stimpson, Duska Dillen Glidden and Cristobel Dillen Lavin, all of Presque Isle; brother, Robert Flint Dillen of Fort Pierce, Fla.; and daughter-in-law, Margaret Poppelmeier Stitham. She is survived by daughter, Susan Ann Stitham and her partner, D. Rebecca Snow, of Ashland, Ore.; daughter, Cheryl Stitham White and her husband, Robert, of South Portland; son, Mark Dillen Stitham, M.D., of Kailua, Hawaii, and Cape Elizabeth; son, Honorable Kevin Linus Stitham and his wife, Jane Hayes Stitham, of Dover-Foxcroft; and son, Sean O’Brien Stitham, M.D., and his wife, Jean Nahan, of Seattle. Surviving as well are seven grandchildren, Dillen Hathorn White of South Portland, Ian Kearney White and his wife, Samantha Steele White, of Little Silver, N.J., Katherine Kearney Stitham of Cape Elizabeth, Allison Dillen Stitham of Colby College, Stacy O’Brien Stitham, esquire, Ryan Patrick Stitham, both of Portland, and Finnean Roarke Linus Stitham of Seattle; five affinal grandchildren, Aaron, Nathanael and Benjamin Aschenbrenner, Katie Nahan and Annalise Plodwick. Bringing up the rear is one great-grandchild, Beckett Robert White. The family expresses its thanks to Helen’s caregiver, Joanna Robinson, and all of the staff at Hibbard’s Nursing Home for their loving and compassionate care of their mother.
A requiem Mass will be held 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Dover-Foxcroft. There will be a memorial Mass and a celebration of Helen’s life in the summer at her cottage at Sebec Lake. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Foxcroft Academy for the Helen Dillen Stitham Valedictorian Award, 975 West Main St., Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426 or St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, High Street, Dover-Foxcroft, ME 04426. Arrangements are in the care of Lary Funeral Home, Dover-Foxcroft. Messages of condolence and memories may be expressed at
www.laryfuneralhome.com.