AUGUSTA, Maine — The first of two sitting Maine lawmakers to die within a week of each other is being laid to rest this weekend.

A funeral Mass was scheduled Saturday for Rep. John Tuttle Jr., D-Sanford, who died on Jan. 27, four days before the death of State Rep. Donna Doore, D-Augusta. Both were 70.

Tuttle served most of his adult life in the Legislature, where he was elected to the House in 1978 and then to the Senate in 1984. He also served on his local Select Board and as a city councilor.

Tuttle also worked 16 years as a lifeguard and founded the Maine State Lifesaving Association in 1980. He served 10 years in the Maine National Guard and was a former emergency medical technician for the local fire department and Northeast Mobile Health Services.

“John spent his life serving the very community he grew up in, whether it was enlisting in the Maine National Guard, responding to a crisis as an emergency medical technician, or advocating for working-class families and folks who felt left behind in the Maine Legislature,” Senate President Troy Jackson said in a written statement.

Doore, who died on Jan. 31 of cancer, was praised for her devotion to working Mainers and for fighting for workers’ rights and fair wages.

“Her unfailing optimism and belief in the power of hope was surpassed only by her passion for making life better for the working men and women of Maine,” Democratic Gov. Janet Mills said.

At Doore’s request, there will be a private family gathering at a later date.

The deaths of Doore and Tuttle, both Democrats, don’t affect the balance of power in the Democratic-controlled Legislature. Special elections to fill the seats have not been scheduled.

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