Alfred William Pettengill

WINTHROP – Alfred William Pettengill, 83, of Winthrop, passed away peacefully in his home on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024.

He was born in Winthrop on June 1, 1940 to Clarence and Gladys (Randall) Pettengill. He was the ninth of 11 children, and the elder of the twins born that day.

He was predeceased by his parents; and nine of his siblings, Clarence “Sonny” Pettengill, Elizabeth “Libby” Williams, Permelia “Pam” Ridley, Herbert Pettengill, Ernest Pettengill, George “Butch” Pettengill, Susie Crystal, and Arthur Pettengill, his twin brother.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Marie (Chase) Pettengill; his son, Jeffrey Pettengill and his wife Suzanne Werfelman Pettengill, and his daughter, Lisa Waitt and her partner Lonnie Berger; and his older sister, Dorothy Blake.

Alfred attended school in Winthrop, but did not graduate from high school. This, however, did not prevent him from rising to two management positions within two different companies. First, he worked as the head of the stock room at Lipman Poultry in Augusta. He then went to work for Joseph Kirschner Company and worked on their night cleaning crew, where he worked himself up to become the Sanitation Manager and the Packing Department Manager.

When not working, he worked on fixing up the house he purchased for his family in Winthrop. His favorite activities included hunting, fishing, and clamming, quite often with his brothers or nephew, John Williams. He also spent several years lobstering with John, traveling to Round Pond on the coast after he got out of work at night, sleeping in his truck waiting for the sun to rise, so that he could check their lobster pots. He would frequently join his twin brother, Arthur, to get bait for Arthur’s bait business. He also loved fresh water smelting in a brook in Damariscotta. He would often go late at night and stop at Red’s Eats for a hot dog on the way.

Other things he enjoyed doing were building plastic and balsa wood models, attempting to grow vegetables in his various gardens, taking care of his pets (frequently giving them snacks beyond their meals), and traveling through Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont trying to find treasures on whatever lawn/garage sales they came across in their journeys. He loved to collect all sorts of things, particularly glass and ceramics. In his later years he also tried his hand at writing short stories and even attempted to get them published. And, within the past few years, he taught himself how to masterfully play chess.

Alfred was a stoic, strong-willed man, and a loving and caring husband and father. A very mature king of a man who worked incredibly hard to provide his family with whatever they needed to be happy. He was generous with his time and was always there to help family when they needed his help. He was quite often the one that others in the family would reach out to when they needed help.

Alfred loved animals. In addition to the many pets he had over the years, in the last few years had become friends with the local chipmunks. They would come to the front steps or the back deck whenever he whistled, allowing him to feed them by hand.

Up until the very end, he fervently took care of his wife who has progressing dementia. Even though it wore him out, never once did you hear him complain or ask for help. He considered it his job and he was very proud to do it.

Per his wishes, there will be no formal funeral. A celebration of life will be held some time in the spring or summer.

In lieu of flowers,

donations may be made to:

PALS No-Kill Cat Shelter,

188 Case Rd.,

Winthrop, ME 04364

palscatshelter

winthrop.com,

or your favorite local animal rescue location.