Ancyl Thurston Obituary (1935 - 2012)

Ancyl Sterling Thurston, of Chelsea, Maine, died May 12th, 2012 in Portland Maine, after a short illness.He was born in Saco, Maine, on September 16th, 1935, the first surviving child of Lawrence Beulan and Esther Marie (Nielsen) Thurston. He was educated in local schools, graduating from Thornton Academy in 1954, where he was given the nickname 'Tiger'. He graduated from the University of Maine in Orono in 1958, with a BS in Forestry, and a membership in the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity.He married Lois Ware in Gardiner, Maine on January 31st, 1958. After the birth of their first son, Scott Albert, he left for service in the US Army and was stationed in Virginia and Texas. While in Virginia, their daughter, Linda Joyce was born. After serving his ROTC duty, he returned to Maine, where their second son, Timothy Paul was born. After active duty, he remained in the Army Reserve until 1979, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Upon his return to Maine, he began his career with the Maine Forest Service, first as a District Forester based in Wiscasset, and then as the Regional Director, based in Island Falls. He next was the operations manager for the Spruce Budworm spray project for the duration of that project. His last position was as the Special Project Coordinator, a liaison between the State and the large land owners. His professional associations included The Society of American Foresters, the Small Woodlot Owners Association, the State of Maine Tree Farm Committee, and the Western and Northern Maine Forest Forums. After his retirement from public service in 1995, he delivered flowers and plants for Longfellow's Greenhouses in Manchester.Ancyl and Lois were very active with the Old South Church in Hallowell, where he served in many lay capacities, including as a deacon, a trustee and on the building restoration committee. He was an active student of the Civil War, particularly of Joshua Chamberlain. He was a member of the Chamberlain Civil War Round Table and spent much of his vacation time over the years visiting battle and other sites connected to the war, particularly Gettysburg. His other avocations included fishing, gardening and watching football.He is survived by his wife, Lois, of 54 years; his son Scott of Milton Mills, NH; his daughter Linda and her husband Phillip Weston of Gray, and his son Timothy and his wife Del of Pittston. He is also survived by his grandsons Stephen and Nicholas of Pittston, and Jonathan James of Gray. Additionally, his brother Norris and family from Raleigh, NC, his sister Joyce and family from Saco, and his sister Avis from new Gloucester. As well as his many friends from all his walks of life.A memorial service will be held at Staples Funeral Home in Gardiner, Maine on Friday, May 18th at 1:00pm to 3pm. His interment will take place at 4:00 pm Fairbanks Cemetery in West Gardiner, with full military honors. His family requests that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his name to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th fl., New York, NY 10001, (www.alzfdn.org).