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Obituaries
Nan Sawyer
Nan became a member of Portland Rotary in 1991, in the first wave of women in Rotary, and she was active on many committees during her 22 years as a member. She would always be one of the first to volunteer for any club event or project and always would do so with a smile. Nan was a very busy realtor and well known in the Greater Portland area for participating in many organizations, and still found time to be involved with her Rotary family.
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Barbara MillerBarbara Miller, a member of the Rochester Club, and her husband died unexpectedly at their home in March 2013. Barbara was a registered nurse and was employed at Homemakers Health Services. She and her husband were
longtime residents of Barrington, N.H.
Jim Monahan
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Jim Monahan, a lifetime Rotarian shown here with his daughter Pat, died March 5 at age 95. He served the Rotary Club of Bethel as club president twice, accepting responsibility for service with virtually every committee and role in the club and continued to serve as a true “role model” for others, defining to the community “What a good Rotarian is all about!” He was an active member of Our Lady of Snow Church in Bethel, the Bethel Historical Society, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans of Lewiston, the Air Force SGT. Association and the Mondt-Allen American Legion. He was awarded the Bethel Chamber of Commerce lifetime achievement award in 2012. Jim served in the US Air Force for 27 years. He was predeceased by Josephine McMillian, his wife of 67 years.
James L. Foss
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Jim Foss, a charter member of the Rotary Club of Rochester, passed away following a long illness on January 2. He was 88.
A lifelong citizen of Strafford, NH, Jim served his country during WWII in the Army Air Corps, and upon his discharge purchased an insurance business, beginning a 60 year career as an independent insurance agent.
He served on the Rochester City Council and was a past chairman of the board of directors of Profile Bank; a former trustee and past president of Frisbie Memorial Hospital, and in 1985 the recipient of N. H. Hospital Association's Trustee Recognition Award.
He was a Paul Harris Fellow and one of the last two surviving Charter members, with over 50 years of active Rotary involvement. He always said that if he predeceased Fred W. Hall, Jr., Fred wins.
William R Skinner, PDG 1998-1999
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William R. Skinner “Bill” was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. He received his Business degree from West Virginia University in 1954 and his Masters in Occupational Education degree from the University of New Hampshire in 1976. He served two years in the Army as an R.O.T.C. officer at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Bill was invited to join the Dover-Durham Rotary Club in 1978. He was president in 1984-85, and became a Charter Member of the Durham Great Bay Club in 1986, where just twelve years later, he served our district as governor.
Bill married his childhood sweetheart, Lucy Love in 1954. Lucy has a degree in Business Administration from West Virginia University and retired in 1996 from the University of New Hampshire Admissions office.They were very proud of their three children and many grandchildren.
Bill was at home, with friends, when he fell on Monday. He never regained consciousness, but his family did have time to gather in Florida to say goodbye. "He definitely went out at the top of his game," his daughter Leyman writes. "Happy, healthy, and still as handsome as ever. It is how he wanted it to happen. Just way too soon for all of us!" December 2012 - Bill was 82.
Muriel Jacobson, Boothbay Harbor Rotary Club
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Muriel, wife of Past District Governor Bob Jacobson, a multiple Paul Harris Fellow and longtime member of the Boothbay Harbor club, died November 7, 2012. Muriel joined Rotary to support Bob, and that was typical of their relationship: the two were inseparable. Muriel was a Gold Star widow -- her first husband served as a pilot in Korea -- and the club's annual Veterans' Appreciation Dinner was a highlight for her. During Bob's Governor year (2005-06), Muriel went with him on every single trip, and made it her business to take notes of his conversations so that he would have the information he needed to follow up afterward.
Daniel Gacetta, South Portland - Cape Elizabeth Club
Longtime club member Dan Gacetta died on Oct. 18 at the age of 92. Dan served in the Navy in WWII and had a successful career in sales for many years. Dan was an avid sports fan; he served as the Maine delegate to the US Olympic Committee, and one of his passions was the Maine Sports Hall of Fame. At one club meeting, Dan described one of the proudest moments of his life: watching the 1984 Summer Olympics women's marathon with Joan Benoit's parents as she came through the entrance to the Coliseum on her way to a gold medal.
Dick Leighton, Brunswick Rotary Club
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Dick Leighton, member for decades of the Brunswick Club, died in late June 2012, at age 91. Dick's volunteerism over the years was legend. A partial list includes Mid Coast Red Cross (past president and recipient of the Clara Barton award), Navy League (past president), Retired Officers Association (past president), and an ambulance driver for the Harpswell volunteer Fire Department. Dick was a Paul Harris Fellow.
Bridget Burns, Wells Rotary Club
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Bridget Burns, age 54, died unexpectedly in May 2012. Bridget was an ardent supporter of Rotaplast and later, Alliance for Smiles, both Rotary programs that provide free surgeries to children in the developing world who suffer from cleft lip/cleft palate conditions. She was involved in the creation of Wrap-a-Smile. Bridget was also deeply committed to Friends Forever, and she was proud of the Blankets for Bosnia program she promoted the year she served her club as President. When original plans for transporting the blankets fell through, Bridget called the White House and managed to get the blankets on the Clinton Presidential plane bound for Bosnia.