PORTER- Anne Frances Day of Porter, 89 years old, passed peacefully on May 2, 2023, at her home surrounded with loving care from her family, after a short period of declining health. She was born in Kennebunkport, ME on December 9, 1933, daughter of George and Frances (Goodwin) Emmons.
She started school in a single room "little red" schoolhouse in Kennebunkport. Her family moved to Porter in the 1940's where she attended Porter High. After graduating in 1950 she moved to Philadelphia and worked for Curtis Publishing Company. She returned to Maine, living in Portland where she went to clerical school and then worked in Portland for a time. Taking the train home to Porter on the weekends to be with her family, she met her husband Merton Day of Porter at a local dance in Hiram. They celebrated 55 years of marriage before his passing in 2010. Upon marrying they rented in Cornish and Porter for a short while before buying their Porter Village home of 60 years, where they raised their family.
She worked locally at the dress shop in Cornish then at Vulcan Electric starting in production and ending her work there in the office. Upon "retiring" she worked at House of Fabric in North Conway, a job she loved. She also cleaned houses for people in N. Conway area and locally. She just stopped working in January of 2022.
Anne loved to travel. She had the opportunity to travel to Ireland, Scotland twice and Iceland. She always managed to get the best meal of anyone on these trips. In her younger years she enjoyed camping with her family in Northern Maine, on the coast and the Maritimes of Canada. She and her husband enjoyed road trips, intending to head south, but the compass always seemed to point north. They both loved the quiet country of Northern Maine and the Maritimes of Canada. Their last trip together was with their son Doug and his wife Helen to celebrate their respective 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries. They drove cross-country then took a cruise to Alaska; it took going west to get north. She was the keeper of the maps on her travels, and she always had maps and atlases out at home keeping track of her children's travels on a map or looking at the atlas to follow current events.
She was an avid reader, enjoying history. She had a love for nature, enjoying the woods behind her house; x-country skiing in the winter, mayflower picking in spring and partridge berry vines in the fall, always keeping an eye out for birds and their nests. She enjoyed x-country ski trips into her friend's camp in Newry, hiking and backpacking. She had a thrilling day hiking the knife's edge to the summit of Mt. Katahdin on a bluebird blue day and camping at Chimney Pond. She was always up for an adventure! Her enjoyment of nature showed in her flower gardens. In her younger years she had lovely dahlia beds, full of color, the more mix of color the better. Her love of color and the geometry of nature showed in her quilting. She made numerous quilts, starting out of necessity for her young children, then as a pastime with a group of ladies at the Porter Grange, making quilts for the lioness club, these quilts were given to children in crisis. She loved to knit, making countless hats and mittens for her family and friends. Her last years she made countless hats for cancer patients, finishing her last hat weeks before her passing. No moss grew on this stone, her hands and mind were always busy.
She was a product of the depression era, finding a way to use "string too short to use", never letting anything go to waste.
She loved to bake, always having cookies in the cupboard and sending them home with family. She baked a mountain of cookies and cakes, enough to pave to Portland and back! She made the best pie crusts enjoying each season of pie making. Mom and Dad loved to berry pick, so they always had plenty of blueberries for her pies.
Her Yankee fortitude and her faith saw her through the trials of life. Anne was a member of the Riverside Methodist Church since 1954, enjoying teaching Sunday school and serving the church. She had the opportunity to go on a mission trip through the church one year, helping down south to rebuild after a hurricane. Her faith in Jesus gave her strength and love.
She served her community, working on the polls at election time. A task she took very seriously but also enjoyed, seeing neighbors as they came to vote. She was a member of Union Workers, Women's Auxiliary of the American Legion, quilters guild of the Porter Grange and the Riverside Methodist Church.
She is predeceased by her parents, George and Frances Emmons; her husband of 55 years, Merton Day; brothers: Bruce, Andrew, Gilbert and Elwin Emmons, and her son Roger Day who has been missing since 1973.
Anne is survived by her children: son, Douglas Day and wife Helen of Center Ossipee, NH; daughter, Leigh Anne Weeks and husband Stephen of Porter; daughter, Elizabeth Day and partner Ken Norton of N. Sandwich, NH. Grandchildren: Rachel Key and husband Brian of Porter; Abby Nichols and husband Jake of Center Ossipee, NH; Rebecca Sprague and husband David of Porter; Colby Weeks and wife Lindsey of Porter. She had 9 great grandchildren. Also survived by two brothers: Tom Emmons of Cornish and Crosby Emmons of Naples, ME and sister-in-law Donna Day of Porter.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Riverside Methodist Church, PO BOX 26, Parsonsfield, Maine 04047 or Androscoggin Hospice Care, 15 Strawberry Ave, Lewiston, ME.
A memorial service will be held at Riverside Methodist Church in Porter on May 20, 2023 at 11 a.m. Reception to follow. A private burial will be held at a later date. Wear something colorful in her honor.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Poitras, Neal & York Funeral Home, Cornish, www.mainefuneral.com