Charles Gardner Parlin
ORONO – Charles Gardner Parlin passed away peacefully at St. Joseph Hospital in Bangor on June 29, 2024.
Born on March 17, 1939, in Farmington, to Gardner and Pauline Parlin, Charlie lived a lifetime of service to others. Graduating from Farmington High School in 1957, Charlie enlisted in the United States Air Force as an administration specialist, serving honorably at McGuire Air Force Base with a desire to serve his Nation.
After his four-year enlistment, Charlie joined the Maine State Police force, rising in responsibility to become a Maine State Trooper and member of the personal protective detail for the Governor of Maine, the Honorable John Reed.
He married Mary Ann Strout of Windsor, in 1966 and as they considered children, Charlie elected to depart the police force and pursue a vocation in education, earning his bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine in Farmington in 1971.
Starting as a Driver’s Education teacher at Mount Blue High School in Farmington, Charlie later earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern Maine, and his clear propensity for leadership and high character facilitated his rise to Assistant Principal, then Principal, from 1991-2000. Serving in these positions for nine years, Charlie oversaw the education of over 2,600 students in central Maine, dozens of whom expressed heartfelt condolences upon hearing the news of his passing.
Following retirement in 2000, Charlie and Mary again served others by assisting families on vacation at Walt Disney World as cast members. Charlie and Mary returned to Orono permanently in 2020.
Charlie is most remembered for his deep love of family, his impeccable moral character, his infectious laugh, and his love of all things aviation, especially his beloved USAF Thunderbirds.
He is survived by his wife, Mary; his daughters Deborah Torkelson and Susan Parlin, two sons-in-law, Tom Torkelson and Cameron Bird; six grandchildren, Jack, Adam, Jonah, Catherine, Benton, and Braelynn; and nephew, Scott Blaisdell.
Visiting hours will be held on Sunday Aug. 4, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dan and Scott’s Cremation and Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Rd., Farmington. For those wishing to attend, the family is requesting an RSVP to the following email address, Dtjajc@gmail.com.
Arrangements are under the care of Dan and Scott’s Cremation and Funeral Service, 488 Farmington Falls Rd., Farmington where memories, condolences and photos may be shared at dsfuneral.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family has created the Charles Parlin Memorial Scholarship Fund at
Mt. Blue High School.
Donations can be sent to
Mt. Blue High School,
Attention
Finance Manager,
129 Seamon Rd.,
Farmington, ME 04938
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Join the Conversation
We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It’s a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. Read more...
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
For those stories that we do enable discussion, our system may hold up comments pending the approval of a moderator for several reasons, including possible violation of our guidelines. As the Maine Trust’s digital team reviews these comments, we ask for patience.
Comments are managed by our staff during regular business hours Monday through Friday and limited hours on Saturday and Sunday. Comments held for moderation outside of those hours may take longer to approve.
By joining the conversation, you are agreeing to our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is found on our FAQs.
You can modify your screen name here.
Show less
Join the Conversation
Please sign into your CentralMaine.com account to participate in conversations below. If you do not have an account, you can register or subscribe. Questions? Please see our FAQs.