HOLLIS- Donna Ann Anderson, 74, of Hollis, went home to be with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on Friday 14 October after several years of declining health.
She was born in Dexter, the eldest daughter of Ernest J. and Blanche I. Daigle. She attended Dexter schools and was graduated from Dexter High School in 1966. She then attended the University of Maine at Farmington and was graduated in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science in elementary education, certified to teach grades K-8.
Upon graduation from UMF, she entered the teaching field, teaching in Windsor for two years, then teaching kindergarten in Monmouth at Henry L. Cottrell School for nine years. After she met her husband Mark, she moved to Hollis and taught various grades from kindergarten through fourth in Sanford at Henry W. Longfellow, Margaret Chase Smith, and Carl J. Lamb schools for 26 years, retiring in 2007.
She was a member of Hollis Center Baptist Church and enjoyed visiting other churches in the area, including West Buxton Baptist, as well as visiting other churches in the mid-coast area while camping from 1997 to 1999 at Little Ponderosa Campground in Boothbay, where she especially enjoyed the weekly Christian music concerts sponsored by the campground owners, Al and Becky Roberts. There they considered Boothbay Baptist Church their church home-away-from-home.
In retirement, she and Mark enjoyed going to concerts, mostly Celtic, bluegrass, folk, and other string music, and mostly in small venues such as One Longfellow Square and the Boothbay Opera House. She especially liked going to the Boothbay Opera House because it afforded them the opportunity for fresh pre- concert lobster rolls down at the harbor. By their count, they saw 288 such shows in six years from 2014- 2020, when her health prevented her from going to such public places anymore.
In 2014, after two years of kidney dialysis, she received a kidney transplant. She was grateful to the deceased donor of the kidney and our family wishes to encourage everyone (who is able) to become an organ donor.
We also wish to express our gratitude to all of the doctors who formed Donna's care team over the past few years, especially all of the fine doctors and staff at the Maine Transplant Program in Portland as well as neurologist-oncologist Dr. Christine Lu-Emerson, who truly is one of God's angels cleverly disguised in human form.
Donna was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her husband Mark of Hollis, her son Eric (and his wife Fawn) Anderson of Saco, her step-daughter Lynette (and her husband Mark) Melton of Springfield, Ohio, her grandchildren, and her sisters Rita (and her husband Rick) Grindal of Nobleboro and Linda Daigle of Bangor. She is also survived by her golden retrievers Hannah, Lucy, and Jake; and sun conures Phoebe (her BFF), Leah, and Jack.
Arrangements are being handled by Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, 498 Long Plains Road (state route 22) in Buxton. Visiting hours will be Sunday 23 October from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. The funeral service will follow at 3:30 p.m. Pastors Ron Sargent and Trent Boyd will officiate. Interment will be at Meeting House Hill Cemetery in Hollis the following day.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Chad E. Poitras Cremation and Funeral Service, Buxton, www.mainefuneral.com