BELGRADE – It is with heavy hearts we announce that our dad, Wallace Vernon Stratton Jr. “Buddy”, fell asleep in death on Sept. 28, 2022. Buddy was born on October 29, 1940 in Augusta, to Wallace Vernon and Dorothy May (McGlashing) Stratton.

He was the middle child of three. He grew up on the West Road in Belgrade; many of his neighbors will remember him for singlehandedly being responsible for all the rocks on their lawns once he got behind the wheel of his mother’s Studebaker! Buddy will be most remembered for his incredible work ethic and ability to fix or repair most anything. At the age of 9, he started his career in the woods by working with his uncle Denny, loading train cars with pulp wood.

Later, Buddy worked twitching logs with a team of horses with his dad. Buddy always spoke of his love for the teams of horses and remembered them all fondly by name. After marriage, he briefly moved to South Portland where he worked for several construction companies (White Brothers, Cook Concrete) however, the draw of being a lumberjack always brought him back to the industry. There were not many moments in Buddy’s life that he was not behind the wheel of a pulp truck, skidder or working on them in the garage.

In his “spare” time, Buddy was known for his legendary horseshoe throwing. On June 15, 1985, Buddy married his second wife, Edith Alexander, and together they celebrated 37 years of marriage.

Buddy is survived by his wife, Edith Stratton of Belgrade; one sister, Gail Wilcox of Augusta; his five children from his first marriage, Billie Jo (Skip) Tilton of Dummer, N.H., Travis (Lisa) Stratton of Valdosta, Ga., Scott Stratton of Freedom, Rudy (Kathy) Stratton of South Portland, and Jimmy (Sara) Stratton of Norridgewock, three stepchildren, William Hayes of Belgrade, Jean Saucier of Belgrade, and Joanne Fuller of New Hampshire. He is also survived by eight grandchildren, Danyelle Stratton, Sophia Stratton, Jamin Tilton, Devon Stratton, Solomon Stratton, Heidi Elva Tilton, Levi Stratton, and Joshua Stratton; and one great-grandchild, Jovita Stratton; five step-grandchildren, Nicholas Savage, Liza Soucier, Lexi Soucier, McKenzie Savage and Kelsey Soucier; and many beloved aunts, uncles; cousins; nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by his parents Wallace and Dorothy Stratton; sister, Evelyn Alexopoulos; and his first wife, Elva Stratton.

A visitation will be held Friday Oct. 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Family First Funeral Homes and Cremation: Knowlton and Hewins, 1 Church St., Augusta. A private graveside for family and friends will occur at a later date.

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.