EAST WATERBORO – Marie Alberta Kitchen, 81, went home to be with her Lord on Nov. 7, 2022. She was surrounded by her two daughters, Lisa Sproul and Bethany Roberts, as well as her two sisters, Barbara Jane Flood and Pauline Hapworth Thoemke. Marie lived in her beloved town of China, Maine, for over 70 years where she was an active community member. Her passion for helping others was apparent by many, and her love of family was her greatest pride. She was a caregiver to family and to friends.

Marie Alberta Kitchen was born on Aug. 18, 1941, in Waterville, Maine, to James Russell Hapworth and Geraldine Hapworth Knox of China, Maine. She moved to China with her parents at the age of nine where the family took over the running of the Pinkham farm on the China Neck Road.

She attended China Elementary School and Coburn Classical Institute before graduating from Burdett College in Boston, with a secretarial degree. She loved ballet, reading, and playing the piano. She also sang duets with her father, James.

Marie married the love of her life, Sherwood Kitchen, in 1960 after graduating from Burdett. She worked for Fort Halifax Company in Winslow, Maine and Lipman Poultry Co. in Augusta, Maine as an executive secretary. When Sherwood returned from the Army, she chose to become a full-time mother.

Marie and her husband, Sherwood, were both drawn to service and leadership. She was an active member of the Order of the Eastern Star in China, and her husband, Sherwood, was active in the Masonic Lodge in China. Marie was Past Worthy Matron and Past District Deputy Grand Matron of District 8. She was also a member and past officer of the Order of the Eastern Star Lily of the Valley Chapter 157 in Weeks Mills, Maine.

She enjoyed guiding teens in the Fairfield Order of the Rainbow for girls, a service organization that teaches leadership training through community service.

She loved her country and was active in the American Legion Auxiliary in South China where she served as a past chaplain.

As a true believer in family, Marie became a caregiver for her grandmother, Lillian; her mother, Geraldine; her father, James; her mother-in-law, Charlene and her husband, Sherwood.

Marie was predeceased by her parents and her husband, Sherwood. She leaves behind her daughter, Lisa Kitchen Sproul and her husband, Brad; her daughter, Bethany Kitchen Roberts and her husband, Doug; her sister, Barbara J. Flood; her sister, Pauline Hapworth Thoemke and her husband, Jack; her grandchildren: Justin Bradley Sproul, Nicole Marie Sproul, Jesse Douglas Roberts and Owen Douglas Roberts. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews: Dianne Renee Hall and her children, Bryan James Hall, his wife, Deborah and their children; Aaron Russell Gill and his husband Robert Girard; Ryan Joseph Gill and his wife, Carlene Heitman; Larry Sularie, his wife Betty and their children; Debbie Sularie and her children.

Visiting hours will be at Lawry Brothers Funeral Home, 107 Main St., Fairfield, Maine on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, from 2-5 p.m. A funeral service will be at the second Baptist Church in Palermo, Maine on Monday Nov. 14, 2022, at 12 p.m. Interment will follow at the China Cemetery Extension in the family plot.

Arrangements are in the care of Lawry Brothers Funeral Home, 107 Main St., Fairfield where memories may be shared, and an online register book signed by visiting http://www.lawrybrothers.com.

In lieu of flowers, you may wish to make donations to Maine Veterans Home in Augusta 35 Heroes Wy, Augusta, ME 04330 or the American Diabetes Association P.O. Box 7023. Merrifield, VA 22116-7023.

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