John W. Benoit

HALLOWELL – John W. Benoit, 94, of Hallowell, passed away on April 15, 2026, after a brief illness. He was born on May 1, 1931, in Laconia, N.H., the son of John Benoit and Flora (LaReau) Benoit and the eldest of eight children in a hard-working Catholic family.

His long life was characterized by his strong work ethic, dedication to family, robust professional accomplishments, a love of learning and the outdoors, and a tremendous capacity for making friends wherever he went.

John spent his youth on New England farms during the Great Depression. His father earned a modest living as a farm manager in both New Hampshire and Maine. In 1948, the family moved to Eliot, Maine, where John graduated from high school the following year.

He joined the Marine Corps during the Korean War, serving as an instrument flight instructor at El Toro Air Base in Santa Ana, Calif. Upon completion of his military service, John was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant. He returned to Maine, where he attended law school in Portland and received his degree in 1960. He passed the bar exam on the first try, placing third out of 33 candidates. On June 10, 1961, he married Judith Faye Edgecomb. They shared 57 wonderful years of marriage and raised three children.

John and Judy fostered a spirit of family togetherness, taking their kids on many outdoor adventures and building a beloved camp on Beaver Mountain Lake in Sandy River Plantation, just outside of Rangeley. The family spent all their vacations at camp, skiing, swimming, boating, and playing countless card and board games.

A skilled carpenter, John built a floating dock, large decks off both the camp and house, and unsinkable wooden boats, most notably a San Francisco “Pelican,” the sturdy, deep-hulled 16-foot family sailboat.

Soon after marrying Judy, John joined the Maine Attorney General’s Office, serving as an Assistant Attorney General, then Deputy Attorney General. From 1975 to 1989, John served as District Court Judge for Somerset and Franklin Counties, the family residing in Farmington. He thought deeply about how judges could use the law as a deterrent to crime, spent many late nights writing out legal decisions at the kitchen table on his yellow legal pads, and donned a judicial robe and traditional white wig to visit schools where he talked to thousands of Maine students about the law.

After leaving the judgeship, John enjoyed several years in private law practice. He was dedicated to public service, serving three terms as an elected State Senator in the late 1990s.

John and Judy retired to the Rangeley area, enjoying many rounds of golf at Mingo Springs Golf Club and working part-time at Scribner’s Hardware. When shoveling off the roof after snowstorms became too much, the couple moved to Manchester, to be nearer to family.

Throughout his life, John started his days early and filled them with many interests – fishing, sailing, carpentry, reading, stacking endless cords of firewood, attending church, supporting his family, and writing. He earned his pilot’s license and flew planes. He could make bagels from scratch or tie a fly. He could make a red handkerchief disappear from his hand.

John authored many letters to the editor, read the newspaper daily, loved puzzles, and wrote and published poetry. An active poet for over 70 years, his poem “Chester Had Colder Ears Than Most Of His Peers,” about earmuff inventor Chester Greenwood, graced the front page of the Wall Street Journal in February of 1986. He donated all the proceeds, over $7,000, from his poetry chapbook, “The Brown-Nosed Camel,” to the Maine Alzheimer’s Association, his wife Judy having suffered many years from the disease before her passing in 2018.

John showed kindness in unique ways, bringing whoopie pies for all the staff at Clover Nursing Home, where Judy lived her final years, wearing silly hats to cheer his grandchildren on at athletic events, or putting loving Haikus in birthday cards.

Over 5,000 people have received one of John’s “Kitty Cat Care Cards,” with his sketch of a smiling cat and the mottos, “Because you care,” and “Let your smile light the way.” He enjoyed his community and the people in it, and sought to recognize small but significant acts of kindness. He gave his “Care Cards” to cashiers, nursing home and hospital staff, neighbors, restaurant workers, business owners, his fellow Senior College participants, family, and his many friends. He wanted to put a smile on people’s hearts, and he did.

John could be tireless in the face of challenges. He took exceptional care of Judy during her slow decline from Alzheimer’s disease and visited her every day when he could no longer care for her at home. At the age of 94, he fractured a vertebra in his neck. For three months, he was required to wear and sleep in a hard neck brace, keeping it on for 24 hours each day. He never once complained, though the injury took his ability to drive and saw him transition from his condominium in Manchester to assisted living at Granite Hill Estates in Hallowell. John moved forward with his signature cheerfulness and gratitude, soon befriending the staff and residents of his new home and figuring prominently in social events and book groups.

John was predeceased by his beloved wife Judith (Edgecomb) Benoit in April 2018; and his younger brother, Raymond Benoit in 2017.

He is survived by brother Richard Benoit of Somersworth, N.H., brother, Robert Benoit and wife Mary Ellen of Bullhead City, Ariz., brother, James Benoit of Pensacola, Fla., sister, Ann Hale of Kittery Point, sister, Mary Ellen Carroll of New Smyrna Beach, Fla., sister, Jacqueline Chase and her husband Alan Chase of Huntingtown, Md.; son, David Benoit and his wife Anita Benoit of Readfield, daughter, Ann Jurczynski and her husband John Jurczynski of Hallowell, daughter, Lynne Benoit of Wells. John is also survived by six grandchildren, Ryan Benoit, Keegan Rasmussen, Benjamin Benoit, Emily Rasmussen, Grace Vachon, and Leo Vachon.

The Benoit Family offers their sincere thanks to John’s excellent caregivers at Granite Hill Estates, Maine General Hospice, and Family Focused Healthcare.

A committal service will celebrate John’s life at 12 p.m. on May 8, at Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery Pavilion, 143 Blue Star Ave., Augusta, ME 04330.

Arrangements and guidance are in the care of Knowlton and Hewins Funeral Home and Cremation Care, One Church Street, Augusta, ME 04330

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

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the

Alzheimer’s Association Maine Chapter

383 US Route 1, #2C

Scarborough, ME 04074