Maria Anne Mollica Champine

WATERVILLE – Maria Anne Mollica Champine, 77, of Gardiner, died peacefully in her Waterville home on June 26, 2024, after a life of service, strength, and compassion.

Maria was born on April 25, 1947, to Frances Lucille Kelly Mollica and Joseph James Mollica of Gardiner. After Maria graduated from Gardiner Area High School in 1965, she went on to earn her nursing license at Mercy Hospital School of Nursing in 1968.

After graduating, she served at Mercy Hospital, kickstarting a career in nursing that lasted more than 30 years. In 1981, she shifted her focus from medical to psychiatric care and served as a nurse at the Augusta Mental Health Institute, where she treated those, she cared for with dignity and kindness. She was also a union representative and was recognized for her work with the 1987 Employee of the Year award. It was also there where she met her colleague and future husband, James Champine.

In 2003, Maria retired from Riverview Psychiatric Center and devoted her time to her family and her true passion – service. When not tending the gardens at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gardiner, she could be found volunteering in the food bank at Chrysalis Place or lending her nursing expertise to various community members in need.

Maria was predeceased by her mother and father. She is survived by her husband and her sisters, Frances Audet, Theresa DeAngelis, and Elizabeth Scheld, her children, Joseph James Downs of Evansville, Indiana, Kathleen Mary Downs of Waterville, Andrew Thomas Downs of South Portland, Maine, and her four grandchildren, Natalie Downs, Christopher Morgan, Carissa Downs, and Carmen Downs; along with several nieces and nephews. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Gardiner, on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at 10 a.m., burial will follow at the Central Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, Sec. J, 163 Mt. Vernon Road, Augusta. Family and friends are invited to arrive at church before Mass from 9 to 10 a.m., to sign messages of love and farewell on her casket. Following the committal service there will be a reception at the Senator Inn, Western Ave., Augusta. 

Arrangements and guidance are entrusted with Staples Funeral Home and Cremation Care, 53 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, Maine. 

Condolences, memories, and photos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the Staples Funeral Home website, http://www.staplesfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Chrysalis Place Food Bank, 576 Brunswick Avenue, Gardiner, an organization Maria felt strongly about.