William (Bill) Clyde Hewett

READFIELD – William “Bill” Clyde Hewett, 90, of Readfield died peacefully on Saturday, April 11, 2020 at the Heritage Rehabilitation Center in Winthrop.He was born on April 8, 1930 at the Hewett family homestead in East Winthrop, Maine the son of Clyde Frederick Hewett and Carolyn Damon Hewett. He was born in the same home where his father was born 22 years earlier. After Bill was born, the Hewett family moved to a farm in Smithfield where they lived for ten years. At that point the family moved back to Winthrop and bought the oldest house and farm in town, located on the Metcalf Road. Bill helped his father run the family farm until his graduation from Winthrop High School in 1950. He loved to play sports, but especially enjoyed playing lineman on the Ramblers Football Team. After high school, Bill joined the Air Force and was stationed in Cheyenne, Wyoming during the Korean War.Bill met his future wife, Carlene Joyce Powell, at a dance in 1955. Not long after they met, Bill was in a horrific truck accident that severely injured him and his father and also killed a third occupant in the truck. The truck had to be taken apart to extricate Bill. He spent the next six months in traction to repair his broken leg and recover from other serious injuries. Bill’s mother traveled to Camden several times to bring Carlene to see him at the hospital. Bill and Carlene were married in Bangor on June 1, 1956 with his brother Stanley Bisbee and his wife Evelyn in attendance.Bill and Carlene went to Florida for their honeymoon and ended up staying a year. Both of them worked as wait staff at The Breakers Hotel in West Palm Beach. For the next year of their lives, they worked at a farm in New Jersey and eventually moved back to Maine. Together they worked on a chicken farm in Colebrook before buying their own chicken farm on the Gorden Road in Readfield in 1959.Bill was a hard worker and in the early years of owning the farm in Readfield, he worked at Carleton Woolen Mills in Winthrop as well as at Lipman’s Poultry in Augusta. While at Lipman’s, he was on the road crew picking up chickens at night from farms all around the state. Additionally, Bill cleaned out other farmer’s chicken barns.The Hewett’s original chicken house burned down in 1963, followed by their home in 1964. In 1965, the Hewett’s rebuilt their home and put up a new chicken barn that could hold 25,000 chickens. A few years later, they purchased another chicken farm with adjoining lands on Route 17. As the farm grew, they added beef cattle. Eventually, they turned it into a dairy operation. During his years farming, Bill was involved with Farm Bureau to help support farmers in the state of Maine and served as president for several years. In 1974, Bill started driving a school bus for the Winthrop school district and over the next 25 years also drove for the Maranacook and Messalonskee school districts. Bill enjoyed driving the school bus and especially athletic trips where he could sit and watch games of all kinds. He also liked taking the ski team to races at Saddleback where he would get a chance to ski.Bill loved to coach and started coaching Farm League baseball in 1968. For the next 20 years, he coached all levels of baseball, moving up with his boys as they played Little League and then Babe Ruth. Bill coached four years of high school softball, five years as an assistant gymnastics coach and spent several years coaching football at Maranacook. In 2016, he was awarded the Spirit of America Award for his service to the town of Readfield as a baseball coach working with youth for many years.Bill was an avid chess player. In 1971, he started playing chess at the Morrill home in Winthrop where he won many chess club titles and competed against other clubs throughout the state. He was also a strong bridge player and played duplicate bridge with his wife for many years, achieving the status of Life Master. He enjoyed competing in tournaments and competitions all over the state and New England, and at the local bridge clubs. In his later years, you would often find him playing pool at the American Legion Post 40 in Winthrop where he was a member for 36 years. Bill was predeceased by his parents; and his sister Nellie Ida Bisbee and brother Stanley Ernest Bisbee. He is survived by his wife Carlene; his son Colin Hewett and wife Beth, his son Mark Hewett and wife Kim, his daughter Jody Zarella and husband Vincent. all of Readfield, his daughter Gloria Hewett of Montville, his son Stanley Hewett and wife Kim of Fayetteville, Ga., his daughter Carol Bradstreet and husband Richard of Wales, his son Allen Hewett and wife Laura of Stanford, Ky.; 16 grandchildren; 22 great-grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren on the way.Bill’s family and friends will gather at a later date to celebrate his life.Arrangements are in the care of the Robert’s Funeral Home, 62 Bowdoin Street in Winthrop. Memories and condolences may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the funeral home website www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.comL;Funeral Familiy First

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