Bench honors the life of Kingsbury Plantation matriarch

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

KINGSBURY PLANTATION — A bench on the shore of Kingsbury Pond honoring the late Lois E. Worcester was formally dedicated on Sept. 10. The bench is located next to another placed by the dam in remembrance of Worcester’s husband, Alton E. Worcester Sr., and the two monuments honor the service of the husband and wife to their community, state and country.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

IN REMEMBRANCE OF THE MOTHER OF KINGSBURY PLANTATION — Family members of the late Lois E. Worcester, daughter Rita Worster, grandson Jay Moulton and son-in-law Ernie Worster, release balloons as Bob Kimball performs “Silver Wings” during a Sept. 10 ceremony to dedicate a bench in Worcester’s honor in Kingsbury Plantation on the shore of Kingsbury Pond. Worcester served as the plantation’s town clerk and tax collector for four decades from 1975 to 2015.

Liz Morin began the ceremony by saying Lois Worcester “was many things to Kingsbury Plantation and she did a lot of things for organizations across the state.” She said Worcester served as the plantation’s town clerk and tax collector for four decades — receiving no monies for these duties — and town meetings would be held at her kitchen table.

“She wasn’t just the mother of Kingsbury, she was the mother to a lot of people — myself included,” Morin said.

Piscataquis County Sheriff John Goggin said he first met Worcester when she and Alton moved to the region in 1975 after he retired from the U.S. Air Force. “She more or less adopted the sheriff’s department, that was one of Lois’ many interests,” Goggin said. “She had a place in her heart for the sheriff’s department.”

“Everything in the town of Kingsbury took place at the house right here at the corner,” Goggin said, with the Worcester’s home visible from the site of the pair of memorial benches. “If Lois liked you, you knew Lois liked you and if Lois didn’t like you you knew Lois didn’t like you — that was the kind of person she was.”

“She was fully devoted to her family and her husband, whom she doted on every day of her life,” Goggin said. “She loved her country, she loved her community.”

American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Maine President Veronica Gurney said Worcester achieved the rank of president in 1999. Gurney said Worcester mentioned her favorite organization chairmanships were leading children’s and youth programs.

Gurney said Worcester requested that American Legion Auxiliary members collect comfort items that could be given to children in times of crisis. These items were then put in backpacks and Worcester had a goal to fill a pickup truck with backpacks. Gurney said instead of just one vehicle, Worcester’s efforts helped lead to three full pickup trucks being driven right up to the Statehouse.

Beals Hospitality House President Kendra Simmons said the home at the Togus Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Augusta began in 1999 when Worcester and others went to the medical facility and saw the wives of patients sleeping in the waiting area. Simmons said Worcester contacted various veterans organizations and helped get a board of directors formed and by-laws drafted as a nearby house was renovated to provide a place for the families of Togus patients to stay.

“To this day almost 17 years later it’s still running almost only on donations,” Simmons said.

State Sen. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville) said he first met Worcester when he was a state trooper, and she later encouraged him to run for the State Senate. “That year I attended town meeting right here and I put it in my campaign literature,” Davis said about the yearly Kingsbury Plantation business being conducted at the Worcesters’ kitchen table.

Davis said Worcester helped lead the push to have the stretch of Route 16 running through her hometown named as the Alton E. Worcester Highway by the Legislature.

Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Bob Young said Route 16 is “the definition of desolate road”, especially in the winter. He said the door was always open at the Worcesters’ home to those stranded along the travelway.

Young said Worcester had a radio and if he and other members of the department may have been unsure of where they were going, “She would give you a tree-by-tree description.”

“It’s people like her that make America work,” Young said, saying Worcester believed if someone started something then they saw it through to completion. “She did everything she could to make this right here part of that.”

The bench dedication concluded with Worcester’s daughter and son-in-law, Rita and Ernie Worster, and grandson, Jay Moulton, releasing balloons as Bob Kimball sang “Silver Wings”, a favorite song of Worcester’s.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

ON THE SHORE OF KINGSBURY POND — Matching benches honor the lives of long-time Kingsbury Plantation public servants Alton E. and Lois E. Worcester. The two came to the community in 1975 where they raised their family of four children, ran blueberry fields and served their plantation, state and country.