Jannie Durr

Born Jannie Blanche Durr on July 1, 1976, and lovingly raised by Charlotte Durr of Dyer Brook, Jannie took pride in being named after both a great grandmother and a great aunt. She graduated from Southern Aroostook Community School in 1994, continued her education with a B.A. in Psychology from Bates in 1998 and attained her Masters in Counseling Psychology from Assumption University of Massachusetts in 2000. She took a position with You Inc. directly out of school, though by 2001 she was working in the department of Res. Life for UNE. After six years, she decided to pursue a job more closely aligned with the pursuit of her doctoral of leadership and moved to Colby College as the director of Res. Life. In 2008, Jannie took a special graduate internship that allowed her to stay with her aunt and uncle during a difficult family illness. In 2009 she returned to the County for a job at UMPI. In 2015, Jannie changed her focus to academic advising and took a position at Central Maine Community College where she also assisted the TRIO program. In 2018 she began work as the Director of Student Life at Kennebec Valley Community College and stated frequently that this job was the ideal match for her energy and enthusiasm. Jannie proudly received the meritorious award for top employee at KVCC in 2024.

 Jannie was a passionate supporter of the humane society. She championed a campus wide effort to collect many carloads of supplies for a shelter near KVCC which greatly boosted volunteer engagement. Her other interests included KVCC and YMCA swim family water aerobics and she cherished the friendships she made during these activities. Jannie was active in Rotary and even participated in an international trip to the Trace region near Istanbul, Turkey. There she learned about the cultural norms of the area, enjoying local foods, daily life, and dancing until 3 a.m. Jannie considered it a fruitful exploration of both the region and it's' traditions around family, culture and higher education. 

Jannie's lifelong love of card games is one shared family wide, and she spent many enjoyable evenings with family and friends this way. She even participated in local cribbage tournaments and took great pride in winning the Hallowell Cribbage Championship at the Liberal Cup in 2019.

Jannie was companioned for 21 wonderful years by her beloved partner Paul Abbott and their cherished pets Rosie and Lil. Jannie is survived on Paul's side by his mother Beverly Abbott Beattie, his sister Lauren Prouix, her children Albert Mansolilli III, Bryce Irons, Jessyca Reider and her husband Andrew Reider, his other sister Leslie MacKay and her children John "Alex" MacKay and Abbott MacKay.

Jannie is survived on her side by her sibling Rebecca Settlemyre and her husband Lee Settlemyre. She is also survived by her Uncle Mel and Aunt Karen Morrison as well as numerous cousins: Chip and Jeannie Cameron and their daughter Crystal and grandchild William, their son Mike Casey, his wife Amanda, their son Dylan and his partner Chiew Ig, and their daughter Briana and her partner Darren, Wayne and Colleen Cameron and their son Caleb, Terri Cameron, Mike and Diane Cameron, Holly and Chuck Hogan and their daughters Abigail and Lauren, Kirby McGraw and his wife Kamila Abeldinova, Shanna and Evan Duffy. Jannie is predeceased by Charlotte Durr, Sonny and Judy Cameron, Glenn Chester and Betty McGraw, and Ted Friel. She is also fondly remembered by Tonya Bates and Steven Graham.

Services honoring Jannie will be held 11a.m. Tuesday, September 30th 2025 at Brookings-Smith, 133 Center St., Bangor. The family invites relatives and friends to share conversation and refreshments at the Family Reception Center of Brookings - Smith, 163 Center St., following the services. Gifts in her memory may be made to your local Humane Society.