TRENTON – Elmer Bryant Hodgkins, 79, died peacefully Oct. 13, 2012, surrounded by members of his family at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital, Ellsworth. He was born Feb. 10, 1933, in Ellsworth, the sixth of seven children of W. Laurence and Mary (Royal) Hodgkins.
Elmer was a lifelong resident of Trenton, always living on land that had been in the Hodgkins’ family for several generations. There was nowhere else he would have wanted to live. He was very proud to have been able to continue to hay the family hayfields until he was 78 years old. Elmer worked in several different roles throughout his lifetime. He worked as a butcher in several grocery stores, including the A&P in both Bar Harbor and Ellsworth. He and his wife, Maureen, worked together in businesses they owned, including Parkadia and Isleview Motel. Most of all, Elmer was a “wheeler and dealer” and loved to sell vehicles. After his health no longer permitted him to do so, he enjoyed watching what his son Mike was selling on his car lot across the road from Elmer’s house. He was a horse lover. He owned many horses during his lifetime, draft horses and riding horses, and always enjoyed going to county fairs to look at the horses. He also enjoyed getting together with his morning and afternoon coffee buddies and missed it when his health no longer permitted him doing so. Elmer’s loved ones will remember how brave and stoic he was. He had serious health problems for several years that would have given many reasons to complain, but he very rarely did so.
Elmer is survived by his wife of almost 61 years, Maureen (Dunleavy) Hodgkins; three children, Mary Wallace of Northeast Harbor, Jean Hodgkins Whitaker and husband, Daryl, of Trenton, and his son, Michael Hodgkins and wife, Kim, of Trenton; five grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren; sister, Jeanice Cousins of Billings, Mont.; brother and sister-in-law, James and Susan Hodgkins of Trenton, who were his next door neighbors; sister-in-law, Eileen Dunleavy Knott of Trenton and Oldsmar, Fla.; brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jack and Helen Dunleavy of Willow Grove, Pa.; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents; granddaughter, Sophie Bunker-Hodgkins; brothers, Whitney Hodgkins and wife, Bee, Philip Hodgkins, and Gerald Hodgkins and wife, Marion; sister, Helen Gott and husband, Clayton; and brother-in-law, Richard Knott. His family thanks the doctors and nurses at Maine Coast Memorial Hospital who cared for him very compassionately as he passed.
A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at Jordan-Fernald, 113 Franklin St., Ellsworth. Interment will be at Leland Cemetery, Trenton. For those wishing to make a donation in his memory, please consider Trenton Volunteer Fire Department, of which Elmer was a founding member, 59 Oak Point Road, Trenton, ME 04605. Condolences may be expressed at www.jordanfernald.com.
Elmer Bryant Hodgkins
