GLENBURN – Rodney W. Page, 74, passed away Jan. 27, 2012, in Bangor, after a fearless battle with cancer. He fought to the bitter end, and died peacefully while surrounded by his family and friends, who truly cherished him for his generosity, warm laugh and his desire to live life to the fullest. Born April 26, 1937, in East Corinth, he was the son of Alma and Lawrence Page.
As a young boy he often worked with his grandfather on the farm and as he grew a little older he had mastered the art of having the first truck full of fresh sweet corn of the summer. As a teenager growing up in Kenduskeag, he soon became the hardworking man that we all knew and respected. He would tell stories later in life how he would ride the milk train from Bangor to Boston to drive the new cars to be sold back to the dealerships in Bangor. His father signed him up for Kenduskeag Fire Department, as a volunteer fire fighter, where he later was promoted to captain. He graduated from Corinth High School in 1956. Shortly after high school he drove dump trucks during the Interstate 95 project as it rumbled north through Bangor to Houlton and also joined the Army Reserve Guard, where he served his country for two years. During this time he also graduated with a two-year associate degree in agriculture from the University of Maine, Orono. While serving in the Army Reserve Guard, he was being considered for helicopter pilot training because of his keen eyesight, but soon found out he was colorblind. He always joked about that later in life. In 1962, he married the love of his life, Charlotte Morrison, and they settled briefly in Kenduskeag while he worked for Weatherbee’s Painting. He would always get the jobs that nobody else dared to tackle like the tall radio and TV towers around the area. If it needed to be painted he got it done one way or another. In August 1965, Rodney and his new family moved to Rockland, where he was hired as a guard at Maine State Prison, Thomaston. In 1970, he transferred to the prison farm in Warren, where he became herdsman until the operations shut down a year later due to a fire that destroyed the dairy barn. Rodney then was asked by the warden to take over the woodshop and was promoted to woodshop manager in the Prison Industries Program, a position he held until June 1982. In September 1982, he and his family moved back to Glenburn leaving behind many friends and memories of the coast to be back with his family and friends of old. He soon began several new jobs to include Job Corps, truck driving, safety manager at Logistics Management Systems and most recently delivering lost luggage from the airport to all areas north of Bangor and into Canada. Rod was an avid outdoorsman who loved to hunt and fish; he enjoyed snowmobiling, four-wheeling and even raised show rabbits. He enjoyed spending time with family and friends, and loved to tell stories while drinking his coffee and more coffee.
Surviving are his two sons, Wayne K. Page and his special friend, Christine Hendron, of Glenburn, and Alden Page of Hudson; two grandchildren whom he adored, Rodney L. and Veronica M. Page; their mother, Susan Page of Corinth; one great-grandchild, Riley Page of Corinth; two brothers, Kenneth Page and his wife, Alice, of Corinth, and William Page and his wife, Geraldine, of Winslow; sisters-in-law, Marjorie Hay of Johns Island, S.C., and Bernice Carney of Old Lyme, Conn.; several nieces and nephews;
and special friends in his life, LaDonna Carter, whom he considered his daughter-in-law, and her children, Ricky and Ryan, all of Bangor, Ron Reed of Glenburn and his children, Jake and Sarah of Florida, and Tami Jo Sandberg of Grapevine, Texas. He was predeceased by his wife, Charlotte Page, in 1999; and by his son, Roderic “Ric” Page, in 2010.
A service honoring Rodney’s life will be held 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at Kiley & Foley Funeral Service, 299 Union St., Bangor, with the Rev. David Bean, presiding. Family and friends may visit 9:30 a.m. until the service begins at the funeral home. Burial will be at Oak Grove Cemetery, Bangor. The family is planning a memorial cookout this summer with the date and location to be announced at a later time. Memorial contributions may be sent to the students of Central High School, 402 Maine St., Corinth, ME 04427. Condolences to Rodney’s family may be offered at
www.kileyandfoley.com.