Evelyn Dearborn (1926-2024)

Evelyn Ella Ellsworth Dearborn, 97, of Orono, Maine, passed away on February 13, 2024, after a long, very remarkable, and happy life.

Evelyn was born on September 9, 1926, to Raymond Eugene Ellsworth and Marion Ella York Ellsworth in the unorganized territory of Perkins Plantation, in Franklin County, Maine. She was one of six children. Three of Evelyn’s siblings, Edna Buchanan, Helen Trask, and Wesley Ellsworth, lived to adulthood. She attended East Wilton primary schools and Wilton Academy where she earned top academic and athletic honors. Following her graduation from Wilton Academy in 1945, she went on to study English, History and Psychology at the University of Maine in Orono (UMO). At UMO, she was selected to join Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and graduated with honors in English in 1949.

On June 19 of 1949, Evelyn married Vance Dearborn. Together for 66 years, they built a life devoted to family, educational, social, and environmental causes. They made their home, first in Ashland, then Bridgton, and Dexter, Maine. Evelyn taught high school English and coached the girls’ basketball team at Ashland Community High School. Evelyn and Vance added to their family in each of these towns, Shirley (1952), Errol (1953), Susan (1957), and Lynne (1960). In 1962, Evelyn and Vance moved their young family to Pittsburgh, where they both attended the University of Pittsburgh. Evelyn graduated with an MS in Library Science in 1964, subsequently beginning her 25-year career in the cataloging department of UMO’s Fogler Library. While heading the cataloging department, she pioneered some of Fogler’s first transitions to digital catalog databases and taught cataloging for several years in UMO’s Library Science program. Throughout her life, Evelyn encouraged and supported many different women, including her three daughters, to realize their potential in male-centric situations. She brought attention to the accomplishments of women, particularly those from Maine. In 1986, she revealed untold stories of the diverse women in Maine’s history in her Liberal Studies MA thesis, A Sampler of Maine Women. She served on the UMO President’s Advisory Committee on Women and the Curriculum, and was a 50+ year member of the American Association of University Women, serving as Chapter President in 1988.

Evelyn’s love of nature and talent in nurturing growing things were gifts instilled by her father, who often took her on walks in the woods when she was young and endowed her with a vast knowledge in plant identification. She passed this appreciation to her children and grandchildren through walks in the UMO forest and constant attention to her countless houseplants and beautiful flower gardens surrounding the family home in Orono. She and Vance shared a passion for nature through their many bird-watching adventures at home in Maine and in many parts of the U.S. and Canada. They traveled widely in the U.S. and globally, especially following retirement in the 1989. With Vance, she visited all the 50 U.S. states and all but seven counties in those 50 states. Together they visited much of Europe, the coastal countries of South America, sailed to the Falkland Islands, around Cape Horn and through the Panama Canal. Life was always an adventure and they met and made new friends through their travels.

Evelyn was a chef of many family favorite homecooked meals and baked goods. She was famous among her children’s friends for her never-empty cookie jar. She was always there to listen and support the next generations of family and friends and was a deeply loved aunt and family genealogist. Evelyn is predeceased by her husband Vance, eldest daughter Shirley, “daughter” Lorraine Wentworth, and son-in-law Paul Rouleau. She is survived by son Errol Dearborn and his wife Lauren Stewart, daughter Susan Dearborn, daughter Lynne Dearborn and her husband John Stallmeyer; grandchildren Erik Colón, Kristin Dearborn, Monica Wilson (Dan), Sunil Dearborn, Karishma Karan, Isaac Dearborn, and Maxwell Dearborn; great-grandchildren Alex and Julia Wilson, Kahmiya and Karmelo Sampson; and her Norwegian Family – Karen Alsgaard, Tore, Silja, and Magnus Jorgensen.

The Dearborn family wishes to thank Diane, Jessica, and Lianne for the special care and friendship they have given Evelyn.

Relatives and friends are welcome to call from 5-7PM, Friday, February 23rd, 2024 at Brookings-Smith Funeral Home, 133 Center Street, Bangor, ME. There will be a celebration of Evelyn’s life 12PM, Saturday, February 24th, at the Orono United Methodist Church, 36 Oak Street, Orono, ME with Rev. Dr. Steven Smith, officiating. Graveside services will be held in late spring at the Riverside Cemetery in Farmington, Maine. Those who wish to remember Evelyn in a special way may make gifts in her memory to the Orono United Methodist Church, 36 Oak Street, Orono, ME 04473 or the University of Maine Foundation – Vance and Evelyn Dearborn Scholarship Fund, 2 Alumni Place, Orono, ME 04459-5792 (memo line for checks: Vance and Evelyn Dearborn Scholarship) or online at our.umaine.edu/dearborn. Condolences to the family may be expressed at BrookingsSmith.com.