Peter L. Ault

WAYNE – Peter L. Ault, 92, passed away at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston after a brief illness on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, with his loving sons by his side.

Born in Lewiston on Jan. 31, 1931, to the late Charles and Ruth (Dobson) Ault, Peter was the seventh of 10 children. Childhood was at Cushman Place in Auburn, where Peter attended Auburn schools.

Summers were spent in Wayne; in the summer of 1942 the family moved to Wayne year-round, and the Auburn city kid became a country boy. The local farmers taught him and his brother Jimmy to care for the cows. Brother, Richard was put in charge of the chickens and David was in charge of the sheep. All of them learned how to get in the hay and helped to raise apples and cucumbers. Peter was also assigned to dish washing duty with his sister, Ruth.

Peter attended Wayne School for 7th and 8th grade and then went to Winthrop High. In his junior year he was sent to The Manlius School, a military school where, according to him, he learned to march. He graduated from Manlius in 1948. He graduated from Bates College in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in history.

Upon graduation he was drafted into the Army and was shipped off to the Korean War. Korea was a very formative experience. He often reflected that the homeless starving refugee families he saw in all of the bombed cities between Seoul to Pusan gave him life-long gratitude for the gifts of family and peaceful beauty of Wayne. He was also grateful for his education, which saved him from being sent to the front lines. When the hundreds of troops on his transport ship landed in Korea and were first assembled, the commander asked the troops if anyone could type. Peter was the only one to raise his hand. He was ordered to stay behind to type orders and the rest of the troops were sent north to the front lines. While in service, already knowledgeable in the care of farm equipment, trucks and cars, he also received training in the maintenance of military vehicles.

On his return from Korea in September 1954, a mutual friend, Dora Lou Pakulski, introduced Peter to Eloise “Lois” Rand. Their first dates were in the Ford Model A truck driving from Clinton to Orono to visit family. They married in Clinton in 1955 and shared 59 years of marriage.

After military service, he worked for the Liberty Mutual Insurance Company as an underwriter from 1955 to 1957 in East Rockaway, New York and Springfield, Mass. Peter had launched a successful career in insurance but realized that a desk job was not for him. There was great demand for engineers in 1957 and the GI Bill was offering to pay for more education; therefore in 1958 Peter and Lois left New York for the University of Maine at Orono where Lois worked as a nurse in the College Infirmary, and they both parented their two young sons. In 1962 Peter graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering. Peter and Lois then bought the family barn on Morrison Heights in Wayne in 1963 and converted it into a cozy home where they raised their family.

Peter’s career at the State of Maine Bridge Division began in the soils lab in 1962. He went on to be the Resident Engineer on bridges all over the State from the Penobscot in Sherman, to the Fore River in Portland. He especially enjoyed working on the restoration of many of Maine’s historic covered bridges. He retired from the State after 34 years in 1995. He continued to work as a bridge engineering consultant until 2013 on projects including the Maine Kennebec Bridge and the Augusta Traffic Signal Systems.

Peter enjoyed giving back to the community he loved. He served on the Wayne Planning Board, Selectboard, as Town Treasurer, as a Library Trustee, on the Historical Committee, Memorial Day Committee, Conservation Commission and 30 Mile River Watershed Association. He was a member of Asylum Lodge #133 and cherished the brotherhood he found there.

Free time was spent visiting with his nine brothers and sisters and their families. Evenings were spent enjoying the sunsets with Lois and touring her flower and vegetable gardens. He also found it relaxing mowing grass and solving crossword puzzles to stimulate his brain.

Peter is survived by son, George Ault and daughter-in-law, Jamie Ault of Wayne, son, William Ault of Fairfield, Conn.; sister, Sara Fasciano of Reading, Mass., sisters-in-law, Norine Jewell of Wayne, and Donna Ault of FalmoutH; grandchildren, Elena Ault and Julia Ault of Fairfield, Conn.; as well as many nieces and nephews and their extended families.

In addition to his loving wife, Lois, Peter was predeceased by his parents, Charles and Ruth D. Ault; and his siblings, Mary Finn, Jane Lindholm, John Ault, Robert Ault, Richard Ault, Ruth E. Ault, James Ault and David R. Ault; and his nephews, Stefan Pakulski, and Christian Ault.

Peter’s memorial service will be held on Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. at the Wayne United Methodist Church, 22 Old Winthrop Rd., Wayne. A burial will follow after at 2 p.m. at the Evergreen Cemetery, Fairbanks Road, Wayne, where Peter will receive military honors. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited.

The family would like to give special thanks to Pam Chenea, for coordinating Aging at Home, that helped Peter develop wonderful new friendships into his 90s.

Arrangements are in the care of the Roberts Funeral Home, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop where condolences and memories may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the funeral home website by visiting http://www.khrfuneralhomes.com

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to:

Aging at Home,

Wayne Town Office

P.O. Box 400

Wayne, ME 04284