Elaine G. Hartley
HARTLEY, Elaine G., 81, Bowerbank, ME, at Holden, February 21, 2016. A memorial celebration will be held in the summer at Sebec Lake.
BOWERBANK, ME – After a brief illness, Elaine G. Hartley passed peacefully from this world on February 21 at the home of her son, surrounded by her family. Born in 1934 to Roy and Grace Jacobsen, Elaine spent her early years in Queens, NY. She graduated from the New York State Teachers’ College at Oswego and later received a Master’s in Education from Columbia Teachers’ College.
In 1960, she married Richard Hartley because with him she knew “life would always be an adventure.” They continued to live on Long Island, NY, where she taught elementary school for more than a decade. In 1972, now with two young children, she embarked with her husband on the grand adventure of moving from the city to a remote spot in Bowerbank on the shore of Sebec Lake.
For many years, Elaine devoted herself to the family summer rental business, “Hartley’s Sebec Lake Cottages,” creating lifelong friendships and precious memories for generations of guests, who returned to the Lake each summer.
An avid seamstress, she was never without a project and had a talent for creating beauty from the most humble scraps. Her deep interest in education continued, and she became one of the first persons in Maine to home school her children during their early elementary years. She also was active in the Sunday school and played piano for the children’s choir of the United Methodist Church in Dover-Foxcroft.
In her later years, she developed an innovative early childhood education program that was implemented through the Piscataquis County Extension Office. For the past three years Elaine resided at Sunbury Village in Bangor but continued to spend summers at Sebec Lake, which always remained her home. She will be remembered as the kindest of women, who could make the most out of any circumstance.
She was devoted to her family, unfailingly thoughtful of the needs of others, and an always gracious hostess.
Elaine is deeply missed by her daughter, Jennifer Hartley of Portland, OR; and her son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren; Richard, Nina, Tessa and Jed Hartley of Holden.
A memorial celebration will be held in the summer at Sebec Lake. Anyone wishing to honor Elaine’s memory, may make donations to: Stand With Me, supporting children with orthopedic disabilities around the world. www.standwithme.org Mailing Address: Scott Mitchell, 160-7 Cedar Breeze South, Glenburn, ME 04401.