Winterport - Dorothea Kaufman, 91, died Jan 25, 2015 at St. Joseph's Hospital. A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at St. Paul the apostle parish, St. Gabriel’s Catholic Church, 435 South Main Road, Winterport on April 11, 2015 at 11 AM. Immediately following the celebration of Mass is a gathering of family and friends for food and fellowship at the Columbian Hall, adjacent to St. Gabriel’s Church. On Monday, April 13th, the burial service with honors will be held at 1 PM at The Maine Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery, 163 Mount Vernon Road, Augusta, ME. (207) 287-3481.
Dorothea is survived by her sister Lynette and brother-in-law Bill Thibodeau and sister-in-law, Ellie Randall in Winterport, ME and brother, Linwood Randall in Framingham MA. Her five children are Linda Grace, William Kaufman Jr., Katherine Kaufman, Elizabeth Cartier, and Ellen Fleet. She has eight grandchildren; Cory, Olivia, Payton, Brandi, Christopher, Rebekah, Harold and Jennifer. Also, she has four great-grandchildren; Rosa, Willow, Brylie and Raegan. Dorothea is also well remembered and loved by many other family members and friends; Donna, Ruth, Shirley. Her nieces and nephews; Joey Thibodeau, Sara and Scott Forsythe, Syndi Jane and Mike McNally, Andy and Missy Johnson, Kathy Brettle, Polly, Barbara, Charlie, Alan, Sonya, Julie, Cindy and Mark.
Dorothea is also remembered for her lifelong love of children. After graduating high school at age 16, she went 2 years to Castine Normal School (now Maine Maritime Academy). Then her first teaching assignment was in a one room schoolhouse in both Jackson and Monroe ME. Then she worked in Presque Isle at the air base, after which she joined the Navy at age 20 in1943. After leaving the Navy, she graduated with a masters from Boston University. Her training included the “Elliot Pearson Early Childhood Development Program”. During these years she worked at the MA Division of the Blind with children. Then, she taught K-12 for 10 years in Newton, MA and kindergarten for 30 years in Framingham MA. She served the Town of Franklin, MA as Chairman on the Council of Aging and despite being legally blind, she supported many senior issues. While in retirement, she spent 13 years as a partner in Sunnyside Daycare with her sister Lynette. She came to Winterport in 2005 to visit and remained until she passed. Dorothea is a cancer survivor from 1966 - her doctors considered her a miracle. Her forty-nine years after a cancer diagnosis were filled with love of family, teaching and her faith was an integral part of her life and the many gifts she gave her family.