Orono – Vance Edward Dearborn, 88, passed away on April 29, 2016. Vance was born July 7, 1927 in Farmington, Maine, the only child of Dr. Errol and Doris (Wadman) Dearborn.

Vance’s greatest joy in life was being with his wife of 66 years, Evelyn (Ella Ellsworth) Dearborn. Wherever they were together, that was home. On their journey, they traveled to every county in the United States (except seven) and 43 countries around the world. They created an extensive Birders’ Life List, coin collection, and an even greater list of friends along the way.

Vance and Evelyn’s life together began at the University of Maine, following Vance’s brief time in the Navy during World War II. Vance graduated in 1949 with a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Maine, College of Technology. He was selected to join the Tau Beta Pi and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies and continued as a life-long member. Prior to graduation, he became Town Manger of Ashland, making him the youngest person in the nation to hold such a position. On June 19th, 1949, shortly after graduation from the University of Maine, Vance and Evelyn were married in East Wilton, Maine.

Following five years in Ashland, Vance became Town Manager of Bridgton and later Dexter, Maine. Wherever Vance was, he was always active in the community, serving on multiple boards and committees. In 1962, Vance and Evelyn attended graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1964, Vance began “playing” at the University of Maine in the Department of Resource Economics in the College of Agriculture. During this time, he received his MS in Public Management from the University of Maine. One of his most rewarding and beneficial contributions to Extension was helping to create the Displaced Homemaker’s Program, which became a model for many other states. Vance retired from Cooperative Extension in 1989. During his years at Dexter, Pittsburgh, and later the University of Maine, he audited annual reports for many small towns throughout the state, creating life-long friends everywhere he went.

With Vance’s extensive accounting skills and his willingness to volunteer, he spent many years “manning the books” at the Maine Christian Association (MCA), the Canoe City Swim Club, Phi Kappa Phi, the Orono United Methodist Church, the University of Maine Credit Union, the Abanaki Girl Scout Council, the Orono Chapter of the American Field Service (AFS) and sold more Orono High School bumper stickers than imaginable as a member of the Orono Booster’s Club.

Vance and Evelyn raised four children and opened their home to countless others from around the world. Vance will be greatly missed by his loving family: Dr. Shirley Dearborn and husband, Dr. Randall Jones Jr.; Errol Dearborn and wife, Lauren Stewart; Susan Dearborn and husband, Paul Rouleau; and Dr. Lynne Dearborn and husband, Dr. John Stallmeyer; Grandchildren – Kristin, Isaac, Maxwell and Sunil Dearborn, Erik Colón, Monica Wilson and Karishma Karan; 3 step-grandchildren – Chris Rouleau, Kate Downey, and Elizabeth Anderson, and 5 great-grandchildren – Alexander and Julia Wilson, Maryn and Michael Downey and Jacob Anderson; and Vance’s Norwegian Family – Karen Alsgaard, Tore, Silja and Magnus Jorgensen.

Special thanks to Lianne Henderson, Lorraine Wentworth and the staff at Dirigo Pines for their care and support.

A time of visitation and gathering will be held 4-6pm, Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at the Orono Chapel of Brookings-Smith, 72 Main St. Orono. A memorial service will be held 10am Wednesday, May 4, at the Orono United Methodist Church, 36 Oak Street, Orono, with Pastor Steve Smith, of the Orono and Alton churches, officiating. Burial services, with military honors, will be held 4pm, May 4 at the Fairview Cemetery in Farmington. Those who wish to remember Vance in a special way may make gifts in his memory to the Orono United Methodist Church, 36 Oak Street, Orono, ME 04473 or the University of Maine Foundation – Vance and Evelyn Dearborn Scholarship Fund, 2 Alumni Place, Orono, ME 04459-5792.

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