Robert Dean Demers Sr.

GARDINER – Robert Dean Demers Sr., 96, of Gardiner, passed away Sunday, April 16, 2023, at MaineGeneral Rehabilitation at Glenridge in Augusta.

He was born Jan. 12, 1927, in Gardiner, the son of Paul E. and Natalie Getchell Demers. He attended Gardiner schools and graduated from Gardiner Area High School. He enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17. After being honorably discharged he married Catherine Morrissey at St. Joseph’s Church in Gardiner in a double wedding ceremony with his sister.

Robert had a great sense of humor and always liked a good joke. He was a magician, puppeteer, cartoonist and painter. He was a clown with Clown Alley.

When he was first married, he was a music agent for the country singer Lone Pine who performed throughout New England and Canada. He later managed a movie theater, was in radio as a D.J., and held many other jobs before settling in on his career as a commercial artist at the Kennebec Journal, where he was head of the Art Department.

He was the co-founder of Harlow Galleries in Hallowell and the first President of the Gallery. He was on the founding board of Woodford School, in Portland. He was the founder and participated as an actor and board member in Open Book Players Reader’s Theater at Johnson Hall in Gardiner. He designed the Open Book Reader’s logo.

Upon retiring, he and his wife opened a group home for developmentally disabled adults, in Portland called Hearth Stone.

He was predeceased by his wife of 67 years, Catherine; a daughter Sheridan Demers and son, Stephen Michael Demers; three sisters; and great-grandson, Kristopher Gillespie.

He is survived by his children Glenda Demers of Gardiner, Patricia Ann Zeek and her husband Don of Scarborough, and Robert Demers, Jr. of Tucson, Ariz.; eight grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.

There will be no visiting hours. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, April 21 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gardiner. A burial beside his wife in Calvary Cemetery, South Portland will be held at a later date.

Arrangements are entrusted with Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Ave., Gardiner. Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website, http://www.staplesfuneralhome.com