PORTLAND- Edouard Gardner DuPlessis, age 68, of Portland, passed away quietly on April 14, 2019, after a courageous battle with cancer. He will be missed forever.
Ed was born in Bangor on November 6, 1950, grew up in Ellsworth and Cape Elizabeth, and lived most of his adult years in the Portland area. He was a great lover of nature, preferring the outdoors, even in imperfect weather, to being stuck inside. He enjoyed traveling throughout the back roads of Maine, canoe-camping on Maine’s rivers, and hiking the White Mountain Presidential range. Above all he loved his time in the woods, whether splitting fallen wood in the trees behind his yard, or quietly watching the sky among branches overhead.
Ed attended Woodstock as well as the Culinary Institute of America. He worked as a drywall contractor for several decades in southern Maine. He was a fan of The Beatles and John Prine and loved to play Scrabble. He was a voracious reader and a student of history, especially World War II and European history. He followed New England’s sports teams and also enjoyed making annual trips to watch small-conference college football games throughout the country. As a boy Eddie was a star baseball and softball player: a shortstop. In his middle years, Ed became a passionate tennis player, a fierce competitor, and consequently a frequent purchaser of tennis racquets. Off the court, however, he was quiet and thoughtful, always ready with a hug. Ed also loved animals, mostly cats and dogs, but cows were his favorite.
Ed is survived by his wife, Cynthia Magnuson; his mother, Charlotte DuPlessis and sister, Olivia DuPlessis of Seaford, Delaware; sister Paula Rugge-Price and her husband, Jeremy, of Sudbourne near Woodbridge, England; mother-in-law Ruth Magnuson of Portland; sister-in-law Karen Fitzgerald of Westbrook; brothers-in-law Rick Magnuson of South Portland and Chris Magnuson and his wife, Jana, of Portland; nieces Kate Gaudet and Caroline Johnson and their families; several cousins and aunts; and countless friends. The family wishes to thank the extraordinary staff at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House who were so kind and supportive to Ed during his final days.
Online condolence messages may be submitted at the Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service website, mainefuneral.com. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The Nature Conservancy or to the Hospice of Southern Maine.