John Holt Willey

WATERVILLE – John Holt Willey, 92, of Waterville died on Dec. 18, 2025, with his loving wife of 65 years by his side at Maine General Medical Center in Augusta, following a period of cognitive decline.

John was born on Oct. 19, 1933, in Clinton, to Everett and Esther (Holt) Willey. He first attended school in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where his father worked in a family retail clothing store. His parents divorced and he returned to Clinton with his mother where he attended school until in 1944, at the age of 10, he was enrolled at Good Will-Hinckley (then Good Will Farm) while his mother became a Registered Nurse and taught nursing at Sisters Hospital, now Mount Saint Joseph in Fairfield.

After graduating in 1952 he attended Colby College for one year, and in 1956 enlisted in the Marine Corps, spent three years at Camp Pendleton, California, until 1959 when he moved to San Francisco where he met his soon-to-be wife Barbara Ann Winey of Deloit, Iowa. John and Barbara were married on Jan. 20, 1961, in San Francisco where they spent the first 14 of 65 happy years together.

While Barbara was a registered nurse at San Francisco hospitals, John worked for private investigation firms earning his Private Investigator license, and then started his own agency. From 1975 to 1977 they lived near Barbara’s family in Iowa, then in Clinton, Maine, where they lived with John’s mother. During the winter, they lived in Boothbay Harbor where John worked in the Paul Luke Boatyard. John wrote and published in 2016 a memoir of building fine sailing vessels titled, A Winter Apprentice. In 2013, he also published a book of collected poems titled, Observed From a Skin Boat. He had many interests including making Raku pottery with Sueann Muelner and Nancy Meader, built two Inuit kayaks and paddles, fine furniture, sat in Zen meditation, and was an avid reader.

John was a member and secretary to the KVWA, a now-disbanded woodworkers’ guild, a member and officer of the GWHA Board of Directors, and spent many years in various capacities at the school of his childhood, his “family” for eight years. John is survived by his wife, Barbara, his cousins and the many dear friends he made throughout his life. Funeral services will be private.

A Celebration of Life will be held on June 27 from 2-4 p.m., at Good Will-Hinckley, Prescott Auditorium, 16 Page Terrace, Hinckley. All are welcome. Please bring your stories to share. John’s hope was that his many friends will join Barbara in reciting Helen Nearing’s Blessing: “Always do the best you can where you are, and be kind”.

Donations may be made in John’s memory to: Good Will-Hinckley, PO Box 159, Hinckley, ME 04944, or to the charity of your choice.