LIMINGTON- Douglas Curt Sasserson, 67, passed away peacefully in his home on April 8th, 2018, surrounded by family and with his trusty corgi dog, “Gus” by his side.
Doug was born and raised in Warren, Penn. He is predeceased by both his birth parents and is survived by his wife Victoria, his son Ryan and wife Stacey Coyne, 2 granddaughters Scarlett Jeanie and Fiona Margaret. 3 older siblings, Susan McPherson, Roxie Fadale, Gordon Sasserson and one younger brother Jeffery Sasserson.
He graduated from Warren Area High School in 1969. During his high school career, Doug was a great saxophone player, buying his first saxophone with money he saved from a paper route. He was also a member of the dance band, orchestra and marching band.
Doug was drafted into the United States Army in 1971 where he received training in air traffic control for 10 years.
In 1982 Douglas began a 20-year career at Logan International Airport as an Air Traffic controller. In response to questions about the stress level of his job, Doug, always a man of good humor and quick wit, would causally respond with a grin that the planes on his radar screen were simply loaves of bread that weren’t allowed to touch.
Douglas married his wife Victoria Lee Barker, also of Warren, Penn. In 1977 and in 1984, they welcomed their only child, a son, Ryan Todd Sasserson. The three enjoyed “the lake life”, living happily on Oldham Pond in Pembroke Mass. They spent countless summers camping in an RV on the beach and numerous winters hitting the slopes around New England.
In 2002, after he had retired from Logan, Doug, along with his beloved wife and son, moved to Limington, Me. It was here that Doug along with his family, truly embraced life as a Mainer, living in a log cabin, heated by wood from his land, split with his own 2 hands.
Doug was a life time member of the National Rifle Association, possessed a lifetime hunting and fishing license in the state of Maine, and unabashedly flew four flags in front of his home; the American Flag, the Gadsden Flag, the Maine State Flag and the Rebel Flag. He fished every spring and summer and hunted every fall and it was rare that his freezer wasn’t stocked with venison. Victoria and Ryan both continue to live on and hunt the family land in Limington.
More recently, Doug purchased a lifetime hunting and fishing license for his first granddaughter, two-year-old Scarlett Jeanie, and was looking forward with great anticipation to teaching her all he knew about his favorite pastimes, just the same as he had for her father Ryan, years ago. He was equally over joyed at the arrival of his second granddaughter, Fiona Margaret, this past September.
In 2006, Doug, Victoria and Ryan began their family business, Sasserson Trucking, Inc. Doug and Ryan maintained the huge trucks together, a strong father and son team, while Victoria handles all the paperwork, permits and certifications required to keep a trucking company legal and successful. Being a long-haul trucker had been a dream of Doug’s, and now in their 12th year on the road, the flashy Peterbilts serve as a daily tribute to him and a reminder to all to follow dreams.
Douglas loved enjoying his cold, home brewed beer made from his homegrown hops, while cheering on the Sox or the Pats. He could often be found on summer evenings sipping his favorite, Blanton’s single barrel bourbon; which he ensured he will now enjoy for eternity; while relaxing on his cedar deck and chatting with friends and family about Chevy trucks, “the Jeep” or duck hunting with Labradors. Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Steve Winwood, or Jackson Brown usually playing in the background.
To say that Doug will be missed is an understatement. He is one of the last of a dying breed of red blooded Americans, God fearing, fiercely proud of his country, a firm believer in the Constitution as it is written and a devoted and protective family man. He placed his beautiful wife Victoria on a pedestal and held her in the highest regard. He instilled in his son a rugged set of morals, beliefs and devotion that shall now be passed to his two granddaughters. And so, his legacy will live on, in all those whose lives he touched. “This Blanton’s is for you, Doug”.
Eulogy by Stacey Coyne
Arrangements have been entrusted to Chad E. Poitras / Neal & York Funeral Homes, Buxton and Cornish. Online condolence messages can be submitted at www.mainefuneral.com