RICHMOND – Joan M. Blaisdell Kent passed away peacefully on Sept. 22, 2022, at The Woodlands Senior Living Center in Hallowell, where she lived for the last two years.

Joan was born in Hallowell on Oct. 6, 1923, the daughter of Earle H. Blaisdell and Norma E. Davidson Blaisdell. Joan graduated from Hallowell High School and from a local business college and from there, she went to work for Central Maine Power Company in Augusta.

After a few years, she left employment and married Plympton C. Kent, Jr. from Randolph, Maine. She and Plympton lived in New Hampshire for a short time after marrying, where he was a butcher for Armour Meats. Later, they moved back to Maine to help the family run Kent’s Meat Market in Gardiner. As their first business venture together, Joan and her husband ran Kent’s Packing Company in Richmond. After a few years, they bought and remodeled the old post office and opened Kent’s Market. As the years went by, Joan and her husband sold the market and rented office space at the old Richmond Library for their real estate and appraisal business. Joan could often be found in the market running the cash register or doing secretarial duties in the real estate office.

Each year, the Methodist church held a bake sale, and everyone looked forward to Joan’s pecan pies. They were often sold before they were even baked!!

Joan and Plympton happily traveled many places, as part of an entourage from the Gardiner Savings Bank Board of Directors group. She also spent many happy years at the family camp on Three Cornered Pond. Joan had a great love of horses, the deer that would frequently visit her home and loved being near any body of water. During retirement, she and Plymp spent a lot of time traveling with their wanderlust friends, Cecil and Beverly Lilly, in their motor home.

Family and friendships were very important to Joan. She and Plympton had dear friends that spent many hours at each other’s homes playing Bonanza and sharing meals. After the death of her husband, she had a very special friend, Mary Hurley and her family, that very often came to her rescue. Also, a special young friend, Allyson Mailloux Miller, who cooked and cleaned and did anything she could to make Joan’s life more enjoyable. Most recently, Chris Acord of Richmond, named his newest building complex after her family. Even though she never saw this to completion, she was very taken by the sentiment.

Joan’s family would like to include a special thank you to all the incredible staff at The Woodlands Senior Living Center in Hallowell for the compassion and dignity she received in her time there, as well as the staff from Androscoggin Hospice in Auburn, Maine. An additional thank you goes out to second cousin, Charles Whitcomb from Falmouth, for helping with the family lineage. His recollections of the family, in the days gone by, where very comforting to hear.

Joan was predeceased by her parents; a sister, Mary A. Blaisdell in 1946 and another sister, Anna E. Blaisdell in 2013. Her survivors include her daughter, Catherine Mary (Kent) Gasper and husband Robert of Manchester, son, Steven and wife Carol of Bangor, son, Andrew and wife, Donna of West Gardiner; a grandson, Jason Gasper and wife Lauren of Bowdoin and a granddaughter, Leslie (Gasper) Marco and husband Jason of Mt. Vernon. She had four great-grandsons, Logan Gasper and Wyatt, Thatcher and Graham Marco[ a stepgrandson, Michael Deveau of Bangor and a stepgreat-grandson, Jonathan Deveau, Jr. of Allagash Village, Maine.

Per Joan’s wishes, there will be no visitation hours or service. Arrangements are under the care of Kincer Funeral Home, 130 Pleasant Street, Richmond, ME 04357.

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