HALLOWELL – Mary S. Porter passed away on April 28, 2022, after a period of declining health and a struggle with dementia. Mary passed peacefully just 14 days before her 100th birthday. Mary was born May 12, 1922 to Dr. John Shaw and Grace (Beane) Shaw of Fairfield. She was the younger of two daughters.

Mary graduated from Cony High School in 1939 (the old Flatiron Building). After high school she attended Gates Business School in Augusta to learn secretarial skills. She was employed much of her life for the State of Maine, beginning at the Forestry Dept., then on to serve in the Blaine House for Gov. John Reed and then to serve as one of the secretaries for the Secretary of the Senate – her favorite job, as she got to meet many of the legislators over the 25-plus years she held this position.

She met a handsome sailor (William Porter) on a trip to Boston in the spring of 1943 and were married a year later in March of 1944. Bill and Mary had three children, William J., John S., and daughter Susan. In 1953 the family packed up their belongings and moved to Anchorage, Alaska, where jobs were plentiful. After about nine months the family returned to Maine – the Territory of Alaska wasn’t for the Porter family, although the children still have fond memories of the trip.

Returning to Maine, the family settled on Pleasant Pond in Richmond and converted a summer cottage into a year-round home for the next 24 years, before Bill and Mary moved to Belgrade. In 1969 they bought a one room camp at Moxie Lake near the Forks and spent many happy hours away from the “rat race” at the “Nap Shack”. Both Bill and Mary enjoyed fishing at Moxie Lake as well as the solitude.

Mary was preceded in death by her parents, the love of her life, husband Bill; son, John; and sister, Jean Phillips.

She is survived by son, Bill (Jan) of Utah, and daughter, Susan (Ken) of Mapleton; 10 grandchildren; and 15 great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be held on a later date in June at the Maine Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.

Arrangements are in the care of Knowlton and Hewins Funeral Home and Cremation Care, One Church St., Augusta, where memories, condolences and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of our website at http://www.khrfuneralhomes.com.