Gertrude M. Winchester Johnston

SKOWHEGAN – Gertrude M. Winchester Johnston, 93, passed away peacefully, surrounded by her family, at her daughter’s home in Skowhegan, in the care of Hospice, on Oct. 3, 2025. She was born in Baring on April 22, 1932, the daughter of Flossie and Earl V. Bartlett, BEM, and lived in Calais.

“Gertie” worked for several years at the Calais Advertiser, enjoyed seasonal jobs, including packing fish, making wreaths, and working at Pat’s Dairy Bar.

She loved traveling and took trips to Las Vegas, Nev.; Branson, Mo.; Vermont, and Canada with her siblings. She traveled with her daughter, sisters, and nieces to visit the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, to view an exhibit of her father’s military memorabilia, and to the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia to see the apple blossoms that her father wanted his daughters to experience, as he was stationed there while serving in the Army.

She loved spending time with her family, camping with her sisters and brothers’ families at Unknown Lake, and in her later years, taking boat rides on Chemo Pond with her grandchildren, playing card games and bingo with her sister Lil, watching game shows, and shopping on QVC.

She was predeceased by her first husband, Melvin “Ike” Winchester, Jr., and second husband, Ivan Johnston; her sisters Dorothy (Bartlett) Campbell, Ellen (Bartlett) Johnson, and Wilma “Billie” (Bartlett) Parks, and her brothers Earl Bartlett and Ralph Bartlett.

Gertie is survived by her sister, Lillian (Bartlett) Tracy, brother-in-law, Tom Parks; her children, Evelyn “Lynn” (Mark) Perry, Melvin “Ike” Winchester, III (Kim), and Heidi (Rick) Fitch; stepdaughters Vicki Hall and Jacki Johnston; her grandchildren, Richard Fitch, Ryan (Sara) Fitch, Robby Fitch (Toni), Jessica (Robert) Ortiz, Brooke Winchester (Mike), Joseph Winchester, and Lindsay Young; her great-grandchildren, Arielle, Nick, Nora, Cole, Jabari, Robert, Rowan, Lilah, Lainey, Callen, and Deacon; and her many nieces and nephews.

The family would like to thank the staff at Redington-Fairview General Hospital and Maine General Hospice for the exceptional care they provided to our mother. We would also like to thank her dear friends, Pam and Karen.

At her request, there will be no funeral.

Some say a cardinal, a visit from above

A thought of loved ones, a sign of their love

When you see one flutter, a smile may appear

A sign that a cherished spirit is near

It’s a touch of heaven, a whisper so true,

“I am never far away, I’m always with you”

Donations in her memory may be made to

PAWS Brave Hearts,

(a 501C3 nonprofit caring for dogs and cats in Washington County) at:

368 South St.

Calais, ME 04619